The Rise of the Dead
by SOLDIER-MS
Summary: AU Sequal to Echo of Destiny, as the X-men gather for a reunion a villain aiming to become greater than Selene uses Eli Bard to raise the dead. While X-men face terrifying reunions four superhumans come to aid them against their deepest fears.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any related characters

This is it, Rise of the Dead, part three in my MArvel series following Cry of the Phoenix and Echo of Destiny, reading those ones would be central to understand that a lot of things have changed. A few people have come back from the dead. This fic answers the question, how did Laurie Collins come back from the dead. Also my OC Gothica becomes a greater threat then he'll ever be in my True Heroism story. Joining the X-men will be my OC's Sieg, Azure Eagle, Driver, Albion and Aeon so if your a fan of OC's you'll have plenty to chew on.

So read and enjoy

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 1: Reunion

It had been a year after the invasion from the forces of Karabai and already things had returned to normal. Or at least as normal as things could get in the world where people could fly without wings (or with actual wings). Norman Osborn was still at large and Fury was pouring most of his resources into finding him. Some of the major cities had been repaired, though there was still some work to be done. The X-men had moved back to Westchester, with a bigger mansion but smaller classes, considering most of the world's mutants had gone to Magneto's new Utopia. Hank McCoy stood in front of his chemistry class, most of which consisted of new faces and an old one. Laurie Collins hadn't completed her high school diploma, so she was doing a GED. The mystery behind her strange and sudden resurrection hadn't been explained, but people were thankful she was back. And people wouldn't get worked up about it now considering what day it was. Jean and Scott organised a reunion for all the X-teams, even Brian Braddock was coming over and a few other Ex-X-men.

"All right class, if you could all have your projects on chapter four back to me by next week we'll consider a field trip" Hank said, dismissing his class.

The children gathered their books and began walking towards the door. Hank looked to Laurie, who was taking longer than the others.

"How are you doing Laurie?" Hank asked.

"It's a little daunting Professor McCoy, having to go through this again I mean" Laurie said.

"How's your mother been doing?"

"Cried as soon as I got through the door, kept saying I died over and over, still I'm going over there for dinner tonight, I just find it strange coming back to a load of change" Laurie explained.

"You could talk to Jean and Elizabeth about it, or maybe half of the team" Hank chuckled inwardly.

"It's okay, I'll just settle for dinner at my mom's" Laurie smiled.

"You could bring her over if you wanted"

"She doesn't exactly like this place, although I am taking someone from the mansion over there"

"A date?" Hank asked.

"Well we might be" Laurie said as a blush crept across her face.

"Go on then Laurie, you go get ready for your "might be date"" Hank chuckled.

Hank smiled as Laurie walked out of the door. He looked out of the window and gasped in happiness as a car rolled up to the doorsteps. Opening the window, Beast leapt out of the classroom, flipping in midair and landing smoothly in front of the guests.

"Jubilation Lee, my stars and garters look how you've grown" Hank said, hugging the young Asian woman.

For old times sake, Jubilee had taken to wearing her yellow coat again, but wore a casual green tank top and jeans. Beside her were her old generation X teammates Paige Guthrie and Jono Starsmore, the latter of whom was wearing a scarf to conceal his resemblance to Apocalypse. Hank picked them all up, wrapping his ape like hands around them.

"Ah the next generation all grown up" Hank sighed.

"Yeah, that means you lot are now the old folks" Jono said.

"Careful, some of these old folks could still kick your ass bub"

"LOGAN!" Jubilee yelled, running up to her old father figure and wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Good to see you Jubes, St' Croix is inside along with a few others if you want to see them" Logan said gruffly.

"Did Theresa bring the baby?" Paige asked.

"Yep, and Warren bought Betsy" Logan said.

"Oi, watch your mouth mate" Jono growled.

"Or what Apocalypse Junior?"

Hank stepped in between the two men, smiling sheepishly.

"Anyway how about we get inside and see little Jamie and Theresa, Hope's getting bigger too" Hank said, putting his around Jono and Paige's shoulders and leading them inside.

"Good to see you Logan, stay out of trouble you hear" Jubilee said, following Hank inside.

Logan grunted before walking over to a tree. He laid down against it, tilting his hat over his face.

"**Logan, I hope you weren't thinking of picking a fight with Jono!" **Charles Xavier said telepathically.

'Daken got out of prison Chuck, so have Mystique and Juggernaut, and here we are just gathering targets, Jubilee, Sophia and Rictor don't have any powers to defend themselves' Logan thought.

"But they can look after themselves you know, you need to have more faith in them"

"Maybe Chuck, maybe!" Logan sighed.

* * *

Siegfried Wallace awoke from his slumber and looked around the room. It was the same old room that once belonged to Julian Keller. Sieg felt that he was an intruder in the mansion; he wasn't getting on well with X-23 either. The girl loved Julian, but ever since his murder she seemed to have drifted back to her cold demeanour. Looking over at his regular clothing, Sieg sighed. The hoody and shirt had long since been abandoned. Now he had two choices, a polo shirt and jeans, or jeans and shirt with tie. Of course he needed to wear something formal considering whom he was meeting. He needed some professional advice.

"Excuse me Mrs Summers, which ones better shirt and tie or polo?" Sieg asked, hoping both his thoughts and voice would reach the telepath.

**"You want advice about style darling you should come to me, I was a model longer than Jean was, I recommend grey shirt without the tie, grey cause it matches the hair, no tie cause its shows your trying too hard, leave the top button undone and their should be some brown slacks in Scott's wardrobe"** Elizabeth "Betsy" Braddock explained.

"Um, thanks Psylocke" Sieg muttered.

**"When in doubt just ask the ninja Sieg"**

'Unfortunately not all ninja's are like you' Sieg thought, rubbing his eyes.

He didn't know where Aeon was, whether he was staying under cover or on the streets. Ever since he came back during the invasion, Aeon had either been saving small people from fires and Earthquakes, taking rescue missions for S.H.I.E.L.D. or just waiting for something to happen. But Sieg had been looking at Colleges, training with the X-men, socialising with the students and even applying for a job at the coffee shop Noriko Ashida worked at.

The partnership he imagined forming with Aeon was non-existent. Sieg leaned his head back, he was glad that Sven was back, but at the cost of Slade Muga's life and worst of all Gothica was still at large plus Celeste and her sisters had lost their emotions after having to fuse their minds to fight Karabai's general Meijin.

'Let's face it Sieg, things can't get any worse' Sieg thought.

* * *

"JUST GREAT! JUST WHEN THINGS ARE BAD THEY GET WORSE!!!" Nathan Summers or better known by his mercenary name Cable was in a very bad mood as he looked out of the window.

"If your going to go to a party you might as well arrive in style" Bobby Drake said.

"Braddock is going to be arriving in style, Ororo will arrive in style, we're going to arrive with freaking heart attacks" Cable explained.

"Oh come on our transport isn't that bad, Driver's got a sweet ride" Anole said.

"Maybe, but his antics are unprofessional, with the rate he drives at I'm surprised anyone hasn't had a heart attack as for Deadpool…I may not be old anymore but god damn it he still gets my blood pressure up"

"But he doesn't drive fast" Dust pointed out.

"He just doesn't stop talking" Sam Guthrie shivered.

"Well look on the bright side, at least we're eating at a good place" Elixir said, lying on the sofa with his girlfriend Loa.

"Why cant we just stay at the mansion, we've got a big enough dining hall?" Ink asked.

"I guess Charles wants a different atmosphere" Dani Moonstar said, flipping through a page of a book she was reading.

"I thought the whole idea of a reunion was to be in a familiar place and talk about old times" Indra chuckled.

"Some of our old times can be painful" James Proudstar said, looking out of the window at the graves on the school grounds.

The X-men and women in the room lowered their heads, remembering everyone they had lost.

* * *

He couldn't fly, so he needed to rely on other methods of transport. Sometimes they weren't legal, but he never regretted the end result. Jumping over the African hut, the man in grey armour punched a lowly bandit across the head. They were men seeking to take advantage of the recent invasion, offering "protection" to the tribes. The men never even knew what hit them, every time the armoured man knocked one of them out he ran at another. Bullets bounced off of his armour as he threw two giant shields at the shooters hidden under cover. The shields threw them back, sending them rolling across the floor. Reaching for the assault rifle on his back, the armoured man fired a volley of bursts, shooting several of the rebels in the knees. Jumping over one of the huts, he then ran to the downed rebels.

"I know you understand me, so don't pretend that you don't, stay right there or I will shoot you" He said.

The rebels let go of their weapons and raised their hands. As the Wakandan authorities arrived, the armoured man ran away, jumping onto the back of a cargo truck. Pulling the covers over his body, Aeon relaxed as the truck took him to an airport. Dismantling his rifle, Sven, threw the parts in the nearest bin and crumbled the bullets to dust. Throwing on a coat and hood, he crept across the airfield towards a plane that would be going to America. He leant against the wall, closing his eyes as he rested.

"All right Sven, no more guns, that's the last time" He said to himself.

He couldn't restore hope across the world; alls he could do was stop any more people from dying. In the aftermath of the alien invasion, a crime spree had begun in every major city, with most of the emergency services assisting in repairs heroes like Spider-man and the Fantastic Four had to play as law enforcement for a while. Of course Sven hadn't been approached for this task, he was focusing his power on independent work. And his independent work wasn't too expensive; he'd just have a lot to answer for if the authorities ever found him.

"Now Sven, don't go regretting what your doing…the law isn't everything" He said.

The registration act was something he never would have gone along with. He came back to a world where everything had changed. Leaning his head back, Sven closed his eyes and drifted to sleep. The plane would arrive at Washington soon.

* * *

Sieg looked at himself in the mirror, he looked good enough for the occasion. Of course it was a major improvement over clothes that never got washed and a big sword on his back. His sword had shattered when Aeon was bought back but his powers hadn't faded. The super strength, energy projection, even the second skin armour. And there was no cure available, even the Initiative's Spin tech had no effect on super humans connected to Aeon. Combing his hair, Sieg nervously moved towards the door as his date softly knocked. Swinging the door open, Sieg blushed at whom he saw. Laurie Collins AKA Wall Flower wasn't a sexy girl like Celeste, but she had her own beauty. Her hair was hanging off her shoulders like always; she wore a simple pair of jeans and a purple shirt.

"Good to see you made an effort" Laurie said.

"You look pretty Laurie, are you sure your ready for this?" Sieg asked.

"You make it sound like I'm doing something for the first time"

"Well technically neither of us have…then again you've been dead and I've been an obsessed super hero…I was asking about you having dinner with your mom actually" Sieg said nervously.

"Oh yeah I um…well my Mom would hopefully have cleared up, I mean she was upset when the X-men turned up at her doorstep, then I come out of the blue alive and well…I'm surprised she isn't in an institute" Laurie explained.

"Yeah…so are we ready to go?" Sieg asked.

Laurie nodded her head, trying to contain her blush as she and Sieg walked towards the front door. Logan put on a suit for the reunion the team would be having. Both Scott and Jean were already prepared and waiting for the transportation to arrive. Xavier walked out of Cerebra, sighing as the three Cuckoo sisters continued to work inside the amplifier. They wouldn't be joining the party, but they weren't the only ones. Ink wouldn't be coming; neither would the new arrivals Molly Hayes and Klara Prast from the Runaways were staying too. Michael Pointer was another that was staying as an unofficial baby sitter. David and Noriko weren't going to the reunion party either. Xavier assumed it was because they had their own plans.

'Its too bad there are some old friends we'll never see again' Xavier thought.

Logan lit up a cigar and growled as two limos drove up to the mansion. Out of one came one of the most annoying men that Logan had ever met. Deadpool was dressed in his usual costume, although this time he had a red tuxedo over his uniform. An equally annoying man then stepped out of the grey and red limo beside Deadpool.

"All right everyone, what are we waiting for, the party cant get started without the hosts right Deadpool?" Driver asked, tilting his sunglasses.

"_Indeed it cant start Driver, everybody hop on the Deadpool express so we can start this adventure" _Deadpool said.

Cable slapped his forehead, to think he actually worked with an idiot like that.

"Hey Charles, have you seen James?" Domino asked.

"No I cant say I have, he'd better get ready…patience is one thing Driver doesn't have" Xavier said.

"Actually Professor, James said he wouldn't be coming today, I guess he just wasn't in the mood" Sam Guthrie said.

"Very well, everyone take your transportation and meet us at the diner" Xavier said, walking with Sam, Dani, Illyana, Piotr, Hank, Domino and Roberto towards Driver's vehicle.

Cable huffed as he, Domino, Paige, Jubilee, Monet, Darwin, Laura, Jono and Tabitha climbed into Deadpool's car. Logan got on his bike while Jean and Scott drove with the younger X-men, half of who were in Sophia Montega's car. Laurie and Sieg walked on the pavement, waving goodbye as the cars drove past them. Eventually the X-men arrived at the diner that had been cleared out for them to use. A lot of journalists and fans were their, taking photographs as they walked on a red carpet towards the door. Before Jean and Scott could walk onto the carpet there was a sudden gust of wind. The X-men looked up and widened their eyes as a veteran floated onto the carpet, the Queen of Wakanda Ororo Munroe. She was dressed in an incredible white costume with her African style crown and cloak.

Next to arrive in style was Brian Braddock, wearing a military style uniform. After him came Warren Worthington with Betsy Braddock in his arms. She was wearing her first X-men uniform while Warren was dressed in a fine business suit. The X-men walked into the restaurant, the platters of food and wine had already been laid out for them. All of the women were in dresses that fit them, even the colours fit them. Jubilee wore yellow, with the men drooling over her.

"Man, Jubilee became a hottie!" Santo said.

"Pick up your jaw Santo" Cessily said, adjusting the strap of her red dress.

"Anyone going to tell me why Yoshida's here?" Logan asked.

"Guys an X-man, besides we gave Gambit a second chance" Warren said.

Xavier raised his glass and the X-men old and new looked towards him.

"This year has been one of recovery, we've lost much, yet also gained stronger bonds between ourselves and the public…though he isn't here today we owe a great debt to Siegfried Wallace, he set us back on a path"

"You mean got Jean and Scott back together" Logan interrupted.

"As I was saying…we have much to be thankful for, and much to regret…let us look to the past and remember the good times, the times of victory over impossible odds, the time of lessons learnt and the days when children became adults, the days when my students became X-men" Xavier explained as he raised his glass. "To the past!" he said.

"To the past!"

* * *

Sven awoke from his sleep, his left arm glowing a silver colour. If he were a being of flesh he would probably be sweating right now. But he still felt the feeling of anxiety. As well as that itch one would get on the back of the head, or to some it would be a pressure in their chest. Whatever it was, it was a feeling of things to come. The instinct that something bad was going to happen in the future. Elsewhere the fist of a blonde haired man slammed into a punching bag. His eyes glowed a gold colour as he walked away from the bag. Even further from America hundreds of Blue birds flew in a circle. A young brown haired man looked at the birds and wiped a drop of sweat off his brow. In the Crowner building, Gloria clutched her chest as sweat ran down her face. Her boss James was in his bedroom with the Black Cat. If he had felt what Gloria sensed then he would have been out in a flash.

'Gothica!" Gloria thought as she grabbed her phone on the coffee table in front of the TV.

She quickly dialled in a number into the mobile, pressing it against her ear as she wiped the sweat off her face.

"Did you feel it too?…Yes I know…go to Westchester…I'll gather some professionals and then some….James doesn't need to worry himself with this, we'll keep it between us…thank you…Lazlo!"

Gloria sighed as she put the phone down and sat on the sofa. She only hoped that she was wrong. Back in Westchester, Sieg twisted his neck round. He too had an odd feeling, and for once it wasn't his hormones.

"Are you okay?" Laurie asked.

"It's all right, I'm just a little nervous" Sieg said.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just one thing!" Sieg smiled.

Laurie widened her eyes as Sieg pressed his lips against hers. The sudden shock caused her to release strong lust pheromones. Suddenly Laurie wrapped her arms around Sieg, who grabbed her hips and picked her up, pulling her deeper into the kiss. She gripped the back of his head tightly, their tongues practically wrestling in one another's mouths. When they separated, both Eighteen year olds blushed ferociously.

"Well, I'd guess we'd better get to my mothers" Laurie said, rubbing the back of her head.

"Yeah…wouldn't want to keep her waiting" Sieg chuckled, combing his hair a second time.

* * *

At Xavier's mansion, Michael Pointer shook his head as Klara and Molly argued over what to watch on the television. Rogue and Gambit had gone out for their own night out and who knew where Proudstar was. Right now Michael was left with only two girls, Ink, Cipher and Theresa Cassidy for company. And of course since he was the man who killed Alpha Flight and absorbed the mutant energies left from M-day he wasn't exactly the number one guy to go to for friendship.

"Mr Pointy, Molly broke the black box that controls the bigger black box" Klara said.

Michael sighed; this was going to be a troublesome night. Suddenly Kurt Wagner teleported into the room, grinning as he carried several board games.

"Who vants to play Monopoly?" He asked.

"I get to be the car!" Molly said.

Michael then raised his head as he looked out of the window. Standing on the school grounds were four of the X-men's deadliest enemies. Juggernaut, Mystique, Vargas and Daken.

"Kurt, be ready to get the children out when you need to" Michael said, opening the window.

A yellow aura surrounded him as he floated towards the four villains. Daken was without his Dark Wolverine uniform, his chest exposed with his hair in its usual style. Juggernaut was in his classic brown armour while Vargas was wearing his usual robes. Mystique was wearing black rubber trousers and boots with gloves and a tank top.

"Xavier isn't here at the moment, though I'll be happy to throw the trash off his land" Michael growled, energy sparking in the palm of his hand.

"Maybe you should tell us where he is before we decide to kill you" Daken said, popping a trio of claws out of his wrist.

"Or maybe you can leave quietly!" Michael's eyes flashed for a moment before they widened in fear.

* * *

Sieg sat at Miss Collins dining table; enjoying the food she had given him. This surprised both Laurie and her mother, who wasn't the best of cooks.

"Thank you Miss Collins, I can help with the dishes" Sieg said.

The woman narrowed her eyes; if this boy was from the Institute she could only hope he wasn't like Josh Foley. Josh was charming, but ended up hurting Laurie cause of the affair he had. He didn't seem any different, obvious physical mutation with his hair, silver and long, he'd made an effort with the shirt but he clearly didn't believe in haircuts yet.

"So Sieg, how did you and Laurie meet?" She asked.

"Um well you see…it was during the invasion a few months ago" Laurie said.

She wasn't really sure whether she should tell her mother that Sieg had been an insane beast when they first met. The thought of an innocent girl calming a monster might have sounded romantic in her head. But her mother would probably judge her differently.

"We were team mates, after the invasion we just connected" Laurie began.

"I helped Laurie study for a few tests…eventually we asked one another out, just a friendly coffee as friends" Sieg said.

"We both sort of became an official couple at Christmas, best moment was when we shared our first kiss" Laurie said.

Sieg smiled, his Christmas didn't start off well. Celeste had dismissed his attempts for affections and Aeon was nowhere to be seen. But eventually the Christmas started getting better. He had snow ball fights with the younger X-men, drank a beer with Logan and even found Aeon.

* * *

_Sieg run as fast as he could through the suburbs. He stopped when he came to a house. Aeon was at the door, waiting for the owners. He ripped off the armour covering his eyes and mouth._

"_Is this your…"_

_But Sieg couldn't finish his question as the door opened._

_A woman stood at the doorway, looking at Aeon in shock. She put her hand to her mouth._

"_I didn't have a good gift for you" He said sheepishly._

_A second woman, closely resembling the older one then walked to her mother's side. She widened her eyes, looking at the man standing before her. For a moment a boy grinning with a blue coat that was too big for him replaced the image of a man grinning in front of her. Two boys ran to her side, both hugging her legs as they looked at this strange man._

"_Are they…?" Sven said._

"_Slade, Jason…meet your uncle!" The young woman said, a tear falling down her cheek._

_Sven Reilly hugged his mother, sister and two nephews, tears of joy crashing down at the doorstep. Sieg smiled at the moment, he thought Aeon spent his Christmas alone. But then he realised he was never alone. Flying back to the mansion, Sieg gave his present to Laurie._

"_Oh my god, its beautiful" Laurie said._

_It was a bracelet, with the engraving "my Saviour" because to Sieg that was what Laurie was. They both looked at one another and the people around them giggled._

"_Stick to the tradition kids" Logan chuckled._

_They looked up; Lockheed was floating above them with a grin on his face and mistletoe in his hand. Laurie and Sieg smiled as they bought their faces close together. Pressing their lips together, the two of them shared a gentle kiss that caused the room to erupt in applause. Even Pixie was applauding, she realised that Laurie was a woman that could make Sieg happy. Christmas was a time of joy and that was precisely what it was._

"Best kiss of my life" Laurie said.

"So far!" Sieg cut in.

Miss Collins looked at the two of them, holding one another's hands. They were cute to look at, but the question she had was whether this relationship would work. Suddenly, Sieg's eyes flashed a brilliant blue colour as he got off his seat. He clutched his head, breathing heavily. Running out of the house, Sieg looked to the sky, he couldn't see the moon anymore. Westchester had been covered in a darkness that wasn't night.

* * *

Daken and Juggernaut were smirking at Michael, the man stood with his eyes wide in shock. But Mystique wasn't stupid enough to think is was because of them. Turning around, Mystique widened her eyes in horror as well. Walking through the gates was a man enshrouded in a black hood. But it wasn't this man that shocked her; it was the others following him. Some looked healthy, while others were rotting, wearing the robes of the Purifiers and the uniforms of the Hellfire club guards. But there dead men amongst the group that she recognised, all of them had pale skin apart from Blink, the old Generation X member. She was dressed in a black uniform, carrying a quiver of diamond spears. With her were Synch, wearing a black version of the Generation X uniform as well as Skin another dead team member of the X-men. Now she saw why Michael Pointer was so shocked. Standing before them was the members of Alpha Flight he had killed, the two Pucks, Vindicator and her husband Guardian, even Shaman. The Former X-man Gazer, in his War incarnation and the Leper Queen. Right beside the hooded man was Wither, Senyaka, a resurrected Pyro and even Mystique's former lover Destiny, dressed in a black version of her Brotherhood costume.

"What's the matter, you all look like you've seen ghosts!" The hooded man said, cackling as he revealed his pale white face to the gathered group.

Juggernaut growled as he took a step towards Gothica. But the man raised his hand, a boy stepped out from behind his legs and Cain stopped in his tracks. He collapsed onto his knees, for standing by Gothica's side was Sammy the Squid boy. The young teenager he had befriended when he was an X-man, the young boy that he considered his first true friend. But he was also the boy who cursed his very existence, who died tragically without realising that Cain was only trying to be a hero.

"Oh don't worry, there's plenty more weapons where that came from" Gothica laughed.

A dark mist swirled around in Gothica's hand as he raised it. Smirking, Gothica fired a blast of dark energy into the air. Mystique and Nightcrawler widened their eyes as the darkness stopped at the sky and spread, blocking the light of the moon and stars. People looked to the sky and screamed in terror as the darkness moved diagonally towards the ground. Those outside Westchester were faced with incredible shock as a massive dome of pure blackness had covered the whole area. Everything was dark and Gothica smiled, he could already feel the fear.

"On this day everyone in Westchester will die and rise again!"

Next Chapter 2: Response to a disaster

* * *

And so it begins, a new version of Necrosha, new villain, some new heroes, but one thing that wont change is that the dead will rise, a lot of dead. Hope everyone enjoyed the first chapter, the second will be a bit of action but more of a strategy session as the main players arrive in Westchester to help the X-men. So until next time leave me a review please!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Dont own the X-men or Marvel, do own Gloria, Noah, Sieg, Azure Eagle, Albion, Driver and Aeon

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 2: Response to a disaster

For a moment Gloria felt what was happening at Westchester, but then everything stopped. She switched on her TV and saw that CNN was already covering the event. Westchester had indeed been cut off from the world. Army tanks were rolling towards the dome of pure blackness, attempting to break through. Sighing as she poured herself a drink, Gloria slumped down on her chair. She knew that James was still "having a goodtime" with the Black Cat, and that despite his intelligence he wouldn't have a plan for this. Stark and Richards were probably beginning to amass their own forces. But they didn't have anyone who could break through the darkness. Guzzling down her drink, Gloria put her coat on and walked out of the Crowner building. Typing the number into her phone, Gloria called the one man she trusted to save Westchester.

"_**Hello Gloria, as soon as I sensed what was going on in Westchester I ran as fast as I could to the payphone you specified…I can still sense what's going on in there, there's a lot of suffering" **_Aeon explained.

"I know, there's a payphone just outside the bus stop outside of the border of Westchester, the bus will take you there but you'll have a few miles walk to get to Westchester, before you start walking pick up the payphone when it rings it'll be Lazlo there's an experiment I want to try" Gloria explained.

_**"All right, I'll hop on the bus right now, the sooner we get there the better"**_

"Why Aeon? Gothica has always been a C-grade threat, he's never been a real danger to the world"

_**"That's exactly why I'm worried, if Gothica's striking now in this kind of manner then something bigger must be on the horizon"**_

"We should consider that possibility, but I think right now our focus should be on stopping Gothica, which means getting to Westchester and finding out what our limits are inside the bubble, communications, sight…even your abilities"

"_**I'll probably hear from you later Gloria, right now we've got jobs to do" **_Aeon said.

Gloria hung up the phone and entered the warehouse she was walking to. Slamming her hand against a box, a circle on the ground glowed and a series of screens and holographic keyboard suddenly appeared. The young woman touched one of the screens, bringing up the image of a CNN report on the Westchester situation. Air force jets had been bombarding the dome with little effect. Then Gloria bought up another image of the side of the dome.

"Gothica, what's your end game in all this?" Gloria wondered.

* * *

A red motorcycle rode towards the black dome, stopping just a few paces away from it. The rider removed his helmet, revealing his long blonde hair. He climbed off the bike and looked at the dome. With a huff he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. Typing the number in he pressed the phone against his ear.

"Come on Sven get there" He said.

There was a moment of constant ringing before someone finally picked up the phone. Whoever it was was breathing heavily on the other end.

"_**Sorry…I'm late…Lazlo…bus driver…wouldn't…let me…on!" **_Aeon said between each breath.

Lazlo shook his head, Sven must have really been getting old, years ago he would have had enough energy to run a marathon and fight the Hulk. But he always had a habit of having enough energy for a fight.

"Your not going to be having asthma attacks inside are you?" Lazlo asked.

_**"No don't worry…I'm fine I just needed a moment…to catch my breath…hoooo…hoooo!"**_

"Anyway, I'm on my side…it looks like Sieg is going to need some help" Lazlo sighed.

_**"Yeah, I'll go ahead, you can wait for Azure if you'd like"**_

"No, Sieg and the X-men will need help as soon as they can get it, the sooner the better" Lazlo said, looking towards the dome.

Lazlo's eyes narrowed as he slowly walked towards the dome.

"I tried calling Sieg earlier, Gloria wanted to see whether we could communicate inside the dome…we cant, once we get inside there will be no way of communicating with the outside world" Lazlo explained.

_**"Has that ever stopped us before?"**_

"No it hasn't, meet you inside" Lazlo said as he threw the phone aside.

Suddenly, armour plates began to cover Lazlo's skin, armour on his nose spiked outwards like a star while spikes burst out of his back and elbow. Shin pads and thigh guard's appeared, all coloured gold with brown accents. His hair stuck out of the back of his head as more armour covered his ears and head, spikes also sticking out of his head like dragon horns. The hair grew longer, resting on his shoulders and over his glowing gold eyes. Squeezing his hands together, Lazlo grinded his teeth together as his hands themselves bent and shifted into metallic claws. He breathed, air gushing out of six holes on the front of his helmet just were his nose should be.

'I'm coming Sieg, I'll help you in spite of your problem' Lazlo, or Albion as he preferred to be called thought of the time he met Aeon's protégé.

They sat in their civilian guises at a coffee shop that Noriko Ashida worked at. Sieg was drinking coffee but Lazlo had a small shot of milk. His eyes remained locked on Sieg's.

"Laurie Collins…do you love her?" Lazlo asked.

"Why would you ask me a question like that, you think I'm planning something don't you!" Sieg said.

"Of course not, I know that all people desire companionship, I know all people wish to be with someone…but do you really wish to be with Laurie or do you feel that you were rushed into it? Celeste cant feel emotion, Megan's come to terms with her crush on you and Laurie's a great girl but the answer to the question I want to know is whether your with her because you actually want to be, or because you think you should be"

Sieg hung his head, running his hand along the edge of the cup. He looked behind him; Noriko was taking a few orders too distracted to listen in.

"I like her Lazlo, but honestly I'm not even sure whether we'll work, I can't just wipe away my feelings for Celeste, even if she has"

"I see your point, but tell me can you really spend the rest of your life loving one person when they're long gone?" Lazlo asked.

"Aeon is!" Sieg pointed out.

"They were childhood friends, knew one another for years, went through the best and worst times together…Celeste is still Frost's daughter and Laurie's a nice girl…just don't start being with people for the sheer sake of it" Lazlo said, gulping down his milk before he got off his seat.

Patting the young mans shoulder; he walked out the front door. Sieg lowered his head, sighing as he drank the coffee. There were so many doubts about his life. And yet so many ways he could react, and the end result would be someone getting hurt. If only this world wasn't so complicated.

* * *

Sieg looked at the darkness, his date had just gotten complicated. Laurie was standing at the door, looking up at the pitch-black sky. Running to her, Sieg pulled her into the house.

"You need to stay inside, Miss Collins please call your neighbours and tell them not to go outside, I'm going to see if the X-men are all right" Sieg said.

Laurie suddenly grabbed Sieg's hand, stopping him from moving.

"Siegfried please I'm scared, just stay with us please" She begged.

Sieg looked the girl in the eyes, caressing her cheeks as her lips quivered.

"Okay, I'll stay for a little while, but they'll need me too" Sieg said, taking a seat on the sofa.

Laurie sat beside her boyfriend, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Well…anyone for desert?" Miss Collins asked.

* * *

Far away from Laurie's house, Wolverine looked up at the black sky, smoke rising from his cigar. He growled at the darkness, his nose couldn't sense anything but his gut told him that something bad was on the horizon. Likewise inside the restaurant the telepathic members of the X-men couldn't feel anything with their telepathy.

"Bloody hell" Betsy groaned.

"We should be going back to the mansion, see what's going on" Piotr said.

"Yeah, plus we'll get stronger booze there" Deadpool said.

"Everybody keep it down" Scott said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the blackened windows.

He raised his hand, signalling for everyone to stop his or her talks. There was a moment of dead silence, not even Wade spoke. Scott gripped his lenses while Piotr even armoured up. Suddenly Wolverine was sent crashing through the window, his shirt burnt off with healing skin.

"RACHEL JEAN! BUBBLE NOW!!!!" Logan yelled.

Flames suddenly flew into the restaurant, squadrons of Purifier's stood outside, armed with flamethrowers and dressed in pure black and white versions of their robes. Their faces were emotionless as they burnt the restaurant. A trio of purifiers on the rooftop then fired their rocket launchers into the flames, creating a cloud of fire. Pale-faced men and women in regular clothes threw Molotov Cocktails into the fire, practically consuming the restaurant in a mushroom cloud of flames.

* * *

At the Xavier institute, Michael was thrown through the mansion walls. His barrier flickered for a moment as the members of Alpha Flight approached him. Gothica smiled as he looked at the graves. The X-men had practically given him the perfect army of dead students. Juggernaut stood still, staring at Sammy in shock. Daken ran without hesitation towards his opponents. Pyro fired a burst of fire, shifting it into a phoenix that consumed Daken. But the son of Wolverine was as resilient as his father, running through the flames and jumping at Pyro. However a blast flew from Synch's hand, hitting Daken in the chest.

"EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE! NOAH PIXIE BEGIN FAILSAFE SYSTEM NOW!!!" Michael yelled, firing a blast that knocked Guardian and Vindicator back.

The light manipulator Noah ran into the student dorms.

"Every body gather in the hallway now just as we all practiced…Megan, you stay with the others I'll go down to the subbasement" Noah said.

"This isn't a game isn't it?" Klara asked.

"No Klara, but don't worry we'll get some place safe" Pixie smiled as she guided the younger students to the hallway.

Gothica sighed, watching Daken slashed at Pyro's firebird to little effect. He expected an army to greet him, alls he had now was a group of second rate X-men villains and Wannabe X-men.

"Random, Omega, Mammomax…kill them!" Gothica said.

The three mutant villains nodded their heads as they began to march towards the mansion. Random changed his hand into a revolver type blaster, firing a beam that sent Daken flying towards the mansion. Mammomax slammed his fist into Juggernaut's chest, throwing him onto the roof of the mansion. Kurt teleported behind Mystique, dressed in his uniform.

"Sorry mother, but I think that this is a good time to retreat" Kurt said, teleporting to Daken's side with his mother in tow.

"Agreed Kurt, we picked a wrong time for a visit didn't we?" Mystique asked.

Kurt shook his head, grabbing Daken's shoulder and teleporting the two villains into the hallway. Michael flew upwards, tearing through the roof of the mansion with Guardian and Vindicator flying after him.

"You may have escaped Justice earlier Pointer, but you wont escape it now" Guardian said, firing a blast towards Michael.

But the former Guardian replacement fired an energy blast that cancelled out Hudson's beam. Vindicator landed on the ground, burning the gravestone of Julian Keller and manipulating the resulting magma. She sent the pile of lava flying towards Michael. He flew to the side, leaving the pile to burn a tree. Noah ran through the subbasement, knocking his hands against the door to Cerebra.

"HEY CUCKOOS WE'VE GOT INTRUDERS ITS TIME TO BAIL!!!" Noah yelled.

The Three sisters looked towards the door, and then casually turned to the screens they were monitoring.

"Beginning download of Xavier protocols to backup disc, activating Danger defence network" They said in perfect synch.

Kurt widened his eyes in shock as the android Danger popped out of the front lawn. Her eyes blinked as the temperature of her armour increased, melting the dirt off her shoulders and metal dreadlocks. She opened the palm of her hands; firing energy blasts towards Gothica's army. Gothica swung his cloak round, creating a shield that blocked Danger's beams. But she quickly shifted her hands into a pair of cannons. The sounds she released from those cannons caused Gothica and his henchmen to cover their ears. In the subbasement, Noah tapped his foot against the floor, waiting for the Cuckoos to finish downloading the Xavier protocols. On the ground floor, Megan was fluttering in the living room, gathering some of the younger students. Ink crashed through the wall, his chest burning from a blast from Random. Omega Red swung his tentacles at Ink, who flipped into the air. He then flew at the Russian mutant like a cannonball, slamming his fist into his face.

"Ink, help my mother with carrying Logan's boy" Kurt said, slamming his feet into Random's face.

Nightcrawler then teleported behind Omega Red, grabbing his shoulders and throwing him out of the door. Danger continued to bombard Gothica and his minions with sonic waves.

"DANGER LOOK OUT!!!" Kurt yelled.

But his warning was too late as Omega Red lunged his tentacles forward, impaling the android. Danger widened her eyes as Omega Red lifted him off the ground. Mammoth then grabbed Danger's arm, smiling as he tore her apart.

"VE MUST GO NOW!!!" Kurt yelled, turning to Mystique and Ink.

"WHERE'S HAYES?!!" Ink yelled.

Michael punched Guardian across the head, then fired a blast that knocked Vindicator back. Guardian slammed his fist into Michael's chest, causing him to cough out blood. Looking at his blood in shock, Michael watched as Guardian charged a blast in his hand. Suddenly, the first Puck was sent flying into Guardian. The two Alpha Flight members fell to the ground, with the second Puck soon joining them. Michael looked towards Molly Hayes, the girl was in her teddy bear print pyjamas, wearing her odd pink bunny eared hat.

"The gnome woke me up, and the girl wouldn't tell me about her cool tattoos" Molly said.

Michael shook his head with a smile; despite all the hell that was going on she still kept her innocence. In the subbasement, Noah stood his ground as Synch and Skin walked towards him.

"Come on dude, just let us through all right!" Skin said.

"You can pretend your Skin but your not fooling me, the real Skin and Synch were heroes" Noah growled.

"You don't even know what a hero is kid" Synch said.

Bone claws popped out of Synch's wrist and light appeared in Noah's hands. Suddenly, Noah flew towards Synch's claws.

"Damn it, Telekinesis" Noah coughed.

Synch then kicked Noah in the chest, sending him flying down the subbasement corridor.

"A point to you I suppose" Skin grinned.

"You can have the girls, but they count as one you know" Synch said.

"Mind getting the door for me then?"

"Not at all buddy"

Synch waved his hand across the door.

"Hmmm, I suppose they wouldn't make their door out of metal considering their number one villain" Synch clicked his fingers together.

He accessed M's super strength as well as the strength of all those he had been in Synch with. Everett tore the door open with one hand, huffing and puffing with an insane look across his face. Skin whistled as he walked towards the three sisters, emotionless even in the face of imminent death. Gothica stood over the graves of the dead students with Eli Bard beside him.

"What do you say Mr Bard, care to add some new additions to the army" Gothica said.

"For Queen Selene!" Bard whispered.

"LET THE DEAD RISE!!!"

"NOOOO!!!!" Michael yelled.

"YES!!" Gothica laughed as rotting hands began to burst out of the ground. "SELENE ALWAYS THOUGHT TOO SMALL! SHE COULD HAVE DONE SO MUCH MORE WITH YOUR POWER BARD! I WONT WASTE IT!!!!"

Michael grinded his teeth together as the dead began to crawl out of their graves. Vindicator slammed her hand into the ground, creating a jet of Lava.

"MICHAEL!!!" Ink yelled as the lava consumed Pointer.

Gothica laughed as the dead clawed their way out of their coffins. Skin wrapped his fingers around the Stepford Cuckoos. Though they showed no emotion, they gasped for air as the former Generation X member tightened his grip on their throats. The members of Gothica's un dead army stepped over the remains of Danger and into the mansion itself.

* * *

Across Westchester, the dead were walking through the streets. Like zombies they rose, marching and even running through the streets. A man and his child ran as fast as they could, fires burning around them.

"IS THERE ANYONE STILL ALIVE OUT THERE!!!" He yelled.

He widened his eyes as men and women with decaying skin surrounded him. Some were decaying, some were simply pale. But they all forced him to his knees with a simple look. Holding his child close, the man buried his boys face into his shirt.

"Don't look Sean, just listen to my heartbeat!" He said, closing his eyes.

Suddenly, blue birds began to fly between the zombies and their target. The mans ears twitched as he heard fists slamming into bones and blades ripping through flesh. He then opened his eyes and looked in shock as the zombies were all knocked out around him. His eyes drifted towards the man that had saved him, the feathers of blue birds dropping off his cloak. He wore blue armour, with a black bird symbol on his chest. The armour of his hands and feet were sharp, like the talons of a hawk. Apart from a black mask with blue eyes lenses he also covered his head with a helmet shaped like a Hawk's beak. Blue hair hung over his eyes and rested on his shoulders. A blue hawk flew onto his risk. He nodded his head at his companion, releasing him and allowing him to take to the skies.

The eagle flew across Westchester, watching as civilians ran in terror. Albion entered the dome, squeezing his fists as a group of Purifiers welcomed him. The blue eagle then passed Aeon as he entered, running down a hill into the streets of Westchester. He looked up, smiling as the Blue Eagle cawed.

"_**Looks like Azure Eagle's arrived" **_Aeon said, rubbing his hands together as he walked through the streets.

He looked down, gasping at the sight of a blood stained doll.

_**"Gothica…NO!! I'm not giving up hope, I swear I'll save as many people as I can, stopping you isn't my only priority! Everyone please persevere, I'm on my way!"**_

Next Chapter 3: Strike back


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I dont own X-men, if I did this would probably be a comic

Deathblade is also mine

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 3: Strike back

The Purifiers looked at the flames of the restaurant, their faces devoid of emotion. They were once servants to a mad man they shared his ideal. Mutants were the children of the devil, signs of a coming apocalypse. All mutants had to die, men, women, old, children every last one of them needed to burn. But now, as undead soldiers of Gothica they felt nothing, they weren't men any longer. They were hollow, empty vessels retaining no soul or free will. Their mission was complete, now all they had to do was collect the bodies for Gothica's plan. Suddenly, the flames were blown aside and Wolverine was sent flying towards one of the Purifier's.

"FASTBALL SPECIAL BABY!!!!" He yelled, slashing the Purifier across the chest.

The other X-men flew and ran out of the Restaurant. Psylocke and Jean were levitating the staff of the Restaurant with their TK while Storm created a rainstorm to put out the flames. Colossus armoured up, slamming his fist into the head of a Purifier.

"CABLE ROOFTOP!!!" Cyclops yelled, replacing his glasses with his visor.

Cable levitated the rooftop gunners off the roof and threw them towards the ground. Cyclops fired his optic blast, hitting a Purifier across the neck. X-23 tore the skirt of her dress and jumped at two Purifier's, impaling them with her feet claws. Deadpool ripped off his Tuxedo, revealing his costume and weapons. Twirling his pistols with his fingers he ran towards a group of anti mutant undead. He fired his pistols, hitting six in the head. Then he threw both guns into the air, removing two magazines from his belt. He threw the magazines, which flew past the guns.

"Ah Stupid movie!" Deadpool growled, picking his weapons and ammo off the floor.

An undead civilian suddenly smacked him round the back of the head. Four of the undead began crowding around Deadpool, hitting him with crowbars and blocks of wood.

"OW! COULD SOMEONE GIVE ME A HAND HERE!!!" Deadpool yelled.

Mercury stretched her arms, hitting one of the Undead with a metallic hammer. Rockslide then launched his fists into the other two as Anole punched the last one across the head.

"All right X-men, gather round, we need to think of a plan" Cyclops said.

"GAGH! NOT REALLY AN OPTION SUMMERS!!" Logan yelled, pushing a Purifier off him and pulling the blade out of his shoulder.

"That was the one that Wolverine gutted" Warren said.

"What gave it away love, him stabbing Wolverine or the fact that his intestines are hanging out?" Betsy asked.

Loa and Indra put their hands to their mouths while Match yelled, burning a Purifier till there was nothing left but a skeleton.

"Oh my god, I just killed someone" Match gasped.

"He was already dead kid" Wolverine said as he beheaded a Purifier.

"What do you mean?" Josh asked, healing a chef that had been burnt during the attack.

"You recognise them don't you Laura? These men were men we killed as X-Force"

Beast widened his eyes and Rachel gasped as a legless Purifier crawled towards them. Colossus closed his eyes, crushing the Purifier's head with his foot.

"Oh god!" Illyana gasped.

"Not god…I've seen this before, some guy used a virus of some kind to reanimate the dead, he was with the Purifiers but then he turned out to be a vampire of some kind" Wolverine explained.

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" Cyclops asked.

"His trail went cold, I pretty much figured it'd be better to face him when the time came…never thought it'd be like this"

"It's not just that guy!"

The X-men turned around to see Driver crouched on the floor, rubbing his finger against the Purifier's blood.

"He was with some woman in black, she drained Security of his life force" Driver began.

"Selene, she's back!" Jean gasped.

"No, I ran her across the world at my top speed, her body couldn't handle the intensity and was disintegrated" Driver said. "He had some brown haired kid with him, apparently he could kill with a touch and a pink skinned girl, she had green eyes and could teleport" Driver explained.

Jubilee and Husk gasped while Chamber squeezed his hands together in anger.

"Blink, but that's impossible she sacrificed herself to save us from the Phalanx, their shouldn't be anything left to resurrect" Chamber said.

"Maybe she wasn't dead" Hank suggested.

"Gothica's with them…he's just done something at your mansion" Driver said.

"But we cant use our telepathy, how do you know what's going on?" Xavier asked.

"I can sense Gothica and others like myself, that includes Aeon and the other two that have come to aid us"

Cyclops walked into the middle of the group, taking off his jacket and tie.

"All right…we need to start taking action, the mansion is compromised so that's off our list of possible safe locations, we'll make a base at the bed store four blocks from here, Wolverine, X-23 I want you two to carry out Reconnaissance at the mansion, report what's going on to Xavier, Cable, Domino you guys take the kids to the police station, get some Intel and weapons, Jean, Rachel and Elixir you'll stay with Xavier at our new base, set up a TK barrier network so that no one can get in, Cannonball take your team, find a vehicle and start getting survivors to the bed shop, Driver I want you to find these guys that have come to help us and tell Xavier about their progress, Deadpool, Captain Britain, Psylocke, Iceman and Hank you also get a vehicle and start gathering survivors, Colossus, Husk, Chamber and M you guys look for survivors as well" Cyclops explained.

The X-men listened to their leader well, prepared to follow his orders to the letter.

"But Scott, what are we going to do?" Jubilee asked, motioning to Sophia and herself.

"Go with Lorna and find Sieg, and stay safe" Cyclops said. "Havok, Vulcan and I will go to the church"

"And do what pray?" Logan asked with a grunt.

"No…we're going to get rid of some of Gothica's possible recruits!"

* * *

Gothica smiled as the new members of his army stood to attention. He had finally achieved the perfect weapons to use against the Earth's heroes. Friends of the X-men and schoolchildren, the perfect tool to turn the heroes honour against them. Many people said he was insane, but he wasn't, he was just unaffected by warps in reality. When the Scarlet Witch altered the universe itself, Gothica was unaffected, he retained his memories as well as the memory of the experience in the House of M. And so by recruiting Eli Bard and altering the Technarc virus Gothica could not only bring back the dead, but also reverse the effects of M-day. Every dead depowered student had now been given new power.

"What is it with the X-men and cute girls?" Gothica asked, grabbing Rubbermaid's chin.

He looked at the mansion and cackled; soon he would have everything he needed. The Lava that had consumed Michael Pointer was suddenly blown apart. Vindicator widened her eyes as Michael floated before her, shining in the same form he took as the Collective. With a yell he fired a blast that cut through Vindicator's chest. In the subbasement Skin continued to suffocate the Stepford Cuckoos, moaning as they gasped. Suddenly, a creature tore out of the shadows, its eyes glowing with a bright light as it slammed its gigantic fist into Skin. The former Generation X member was sent flying into Synch, slamming both men into the wall. A disc slid out of Cerebra's control panel.

"Download complete" The Cuckoos said.

The shadow creatures twisted around and shifted, turning into Noah right before the sisters eyes.

"Good, now lets get the hell out of here" Noah said.

Mammomax was suddenly thrown into Random and Pyro. Juggernaut yelled in Fury as he slammed his fist against the floor, knocking several Purifiers back. Danger's remains suddenly came to life, forming together into a silver more bulky version of Danger. She fired two blasts from her cannons, hitting Omega red and Blink. Then she fired a bigger blast from her mouth, hitting Gothica in the chest. He stepped backwards, clutching his burning chest.

"Oh you're really going to pay for that" He growled.

"We need to commence immediate retreat!" Danger said.

"Yeah no shit!" Said Noah as he and the Cuckoos walked into the room.

Pixie began chanting the spell for her teleportation while Kurt teleported into Theresa's room.

"Theresa, we need to get the children out now" Kurt said.

Theresa nodded her head, grabbing Nathan and Hope. She gave the red haired girl to Kurt first, holding her own son close as they prepared to teleport. Suddenly, Kurt's concentration was blocked by a piercing sound that ripped off the roof. Theresa looked up in shock as her father Sean Cassidy and lover Jamie Madrox flew above them. Banshee dropped Madrox, who multiplied into Eight versions of himself.

"Sean stop, its me Kurt, we were the second generation Mein Freund, don't do this" Nightcrawler tried to plead with Banshee as he flew into the room.

Banshee unleashed a sonic scream, causing Kurt to swing around, taking a shot to the back that threw him out of the room. Holding Hope tightly, Kurt teleported into the lobby, falling to his knees as tears ran down his face. The Madrox duplicates pinned Theresa to the wall. Gothica floated into Theresa's room, smiling as Banshee grabbed Theresa's child.

"Dad, please don't do this, he's your grandson" Theresa pleaded.

Gothica looked at the child curiously, for it wasn't Sean Cassidy's temporary hesitance that bothered him. A sinister and sadistic smile crossed Gothica's face as a realisation hit him.

"Madrox-Prime, come here and hold your child" He said.

Michael fired multiple blasts, hitting each member of Gothica's army. He charged a larger beam in his hands and fired it at Puck, cutting off the mans legs.

"That should stop him from bouncing around!" Michael said.

Juggernaut charged into Random and Omega Red, clothes lining both men and throwing them away. He then ran to Pixie's side with Molly Hayes. The energy of the collective faded and Michael rolled across the grass, diving for cover behind Danger as she fired at the incoming resurrected students. A pale DJ, wearing a black version of his squad uniform put on his ear phones. The tips of the resurrected Quill's spikes began to light on fire as he approached the mansion. He threw a storm of Quill's striking Danger's head and chest.

"Go, now…you must all survive" Danger said.

The android was shattered to pieces as DJ fired a blast into Danger's chest. Each piece of Danger was set ablaze, disintegrating into ashes. With a heavy heart, Pixie chanted the final word for her spell, leaving Theresa and the burning remains of Danger behind. The Madrox duplicates pushed Theresa to the floor, tilting her head up so she could see Gothica and the real Madrox.

"He was never your child Miss Cassidy…" Gothica paused as he gave the child to Madrox.

Theresa's whole world was shattered as the baby she had carried was sucked into Madrox's chest. She stared at Madrox, tears dripping down her face as Gothica cackled.

"You see, he was actually a duplicate, the Multiple man can't have children and you actually thought otherwise" Gothica began laughing insanely as Theresa grinded her teeth together.

But before she could scream, Banshee unleashed his own sonic scream, pushing Theresa against the wall and twisting her neck. Madrox looked at his hands and where the baby had been earlier. A small teardrop fell onto his fingertip while Gothica floated towards the ground. Gothica stood amongst the wreckage of the mansion and at the lead of an army.

"All right everyone, go and have yourselves some fun" Gothica smiled, reaching into his cloak.

He pulled out a syringe filled with blood red chemicals. Injecting the formula into his neck, he flinched for a moment before his eyes glowed red.

* * *

Aeon sighed as he walked through the streets he was completely lost. This never happened to Iron Man or Captain America, not even the Great Lakes Avengers got lost in an area like Westchester. If only there was someone around that he could ask for directions. Suddenly a light flashed above Aeon and the survivors of the mansion attack fell down towards Aeon. He widened his eyes and sighed before Juggernaut landed on him.

"Owie, not one of my best teleports" Pixie said, rubbing her head.

"I think next time I'll take the bus" Noah said.

Noah helped Pixie up while Daken stretched his back, starting to wish he had a metal skeleton like his father. Juggernaut raised his head, fidgeting in the crater he had created with his landing.

"It feels like there's something sticking into my AAAASS!!!" Cain yelled as Aeon threw him headfirst onto Daken.

"_**Ah damn, someone hasn't been to the toilet" **_Aeon said, scratching the "nose" of his helmet.

"DAMN IT!!!" Kurt yelled, dragging his knees across the floor.

Aeon looked at the expression on Kurt's face, one he had seen many times.

"_**What happened?" **_He asked.

Kurt cried his eyes out, with Mystique rubbing his shoulder.

"We left three of our own back at the mansion, there was nothing we could do" Michael said, closing his eyes as he lowered his head.

Aeon gasped, squeezing his hands into fist.

"A mother, and a child…oh god!" Kurt cried.

Aeon smacked the hood of a car, running a hand across his face to hold the tears at bay. Then he swung around, walking towards Kurt and pulling him to his feet.

_**"Give the child to Michael, and help me find survivors"**_

For a moment tears continue to fall down Kurt's face before he wiped them and nodded his head at Aeon. He walked over to Michael, leaving Hope in his arms.

"I can help" He said.

"Help the child, protect her with everything you've got" Kurt said.

"Looks like we chose the wrong day to get revenge" Juggernaut said to Daken.

Kurt walked to Aeon's side, placing his hand on his shoulder and teleporting them both away. Noah looked at the buildings around them and nodded to Pixie. They needed to find the people hiding in those buildings. Finding survivors was the only thing they could do to help.

* * *

At Laurie's house, Sieg paced around the room, a hand to his chin in deep thought. Laurie's mother was on the phone, trying to get through to someone. But the phone wouldn't even ring; it was as if someone had unplugged the machine. Laurie sat on the sofa, looking at the blank TV screen. Every electrical item apart from the flashlight wasn't working. Sieg looked out of the window, the neighbours and other houses had lit candles.

'Good, there are still people alive out there' Sieg thought. 'Gothica, what are you planning, is this fear for your entertainment or are you going to use it for something' the young hero wondered.

He looked at Laurie, she was hiding her fear well just as he was. But for Sieg it wasn't the fear of what could be out there, rather it was the fear of himself. Even in this situation he couldn't get his mind of his own predicaments. Celeste, Laurie and his uncertainties of what kind of life he should live. Laurie smiled at Sieg, who despite the situation smiled back.

"Land lines wont work, the computer doesn't work, not even my mobile works" Miss Collins said as she walked into the room.

"Gothica could never use his powers over such a wide range, even when he was my age the range of his power was always constant, never evolving" Sieg explained. "Get as much food as you can get into a bag and a flash light, we've got to move now"

Sieg opened the door, walking out into the dark as Laurie began packing bags. He closed his eyes, concentrating in order to create a copy of his sword. Holding the blade in front of his eyes, Sieg sighed. His powers had been reduced recently; maybe it was because of Aeon's rebirth or maybe it was exactly what Hank had told him.

_Hank looked at the thermometer curiously, Sieg told him he hadn't been feeling well. Beast had run every test he could, but there was nothing wrong with the boy._

"_Your fit as a fiddle boy, you want to know what the problem is?" Hank asked._

_Sieg nodded his head and flinched when Hank flicked his head._

"_Its in there boy, doubts and subconscious desires can be a powerful thing, outside you may say you want it, but inside could be another matter" Hank explained._

"_So its fear of my own power…somehow I doubt that" Sieg said._

"_Do you know why the X-men prevail time and time again Sieg?" Hank asked._

"_They're work well together" Sieg assumed._

"_That's partly it, but the general reason why good prevails is because good has the confidence to stand up and fight, no one ever won a fight without confidence in their ability to win…you should have faith in yourself boy"_

_Patting the young man on the head, Hank left Sieg to his thoughts._

"I need to have faith in myself, faith in my own power" Sieg said.

_**"You will never come to accept your power!"**_

Sieg swung around and widened his eyes in total shock. Standing before him was a man he thought had died with Aeon. He was covered in demonic black armour, with a red v shape across his belly and blade like gauntlets. His red eyes glowed as the wind caused the red hair at the back of his diamond helmet to wave around. In his hands were two scythes, drenched in blood.

"Deathblade….impossible…LAURIE!!!" Sieg yelled, pushing past Deathblade.

"What is it Sieg?" Laurie asked, running to the doorway with a duffle bag.

"TAKE YOUR MOTHER AND RUN NOW!!" Sieg yelled.

Sieg and Deathblade slammed their weapons together, their eyes glowing violently before they took flight.

* * *

Purifier's were walking into people's houses, searching for possible recruits. Of course they wouldn't find any dead people. They'd just make a few dead people with a few bullets. Matthew Risman grabbed a man by his hair, dragging him out of his own home. Throwing him to the ground, he loaded a bullet into his pistol.

"For his lordship!" Risman said.

Suddenly, a card flew into Risman's head, blowing it to pieces. Purifiers began to fun out of the houses they were searching. They found new targets of interest. Gambit swung his staff round, smacking two Purifier's across the head. He then charged two cards, throwing them into the heads of two more Purifier's.

"You picked quite a day to take me out" Rogue said, kicking a Purifier across the face.

Both were wearing their X-men costumes, fully prepared for the coming battle. Gambit slammed his staff into the ground, running kinetic energy down the pole and shaking the ground with his power. Rogue jumped over a car and grabbed the back of Gambit's head. As the Purifier's loaded their weapons, Gambit and Rogue closed their eyes as they kissed.

"Good luck swamp rat" Rogue said.

"Ditto Cheri!" Gambit grinned.

The X-men separated and ran into battle!

Next Chapter 4: Rescue missions

* * *

Next chapter we see the X-men and the OC's beginning their search for survivors, plus the original New Mutants are faced with their old rivals and some old friends


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 4: Rescue Missions

Azure Eagle stood amongst streets that would have been crowded at the time of the attack. Now all of a sudden, the doors were locked and the streets themselves were deserted. Apart from two civilians that he had saved from a group of Zombies. Judging from their clothing they were ordinary men buried in suits that over time rotted like they did. The Blue armoured hero looked at the windows and the doors around him, disgust in his eyes.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" He growled. "DO YOU PEOPLE HEAR ME YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELVES!!!!" He yelled.

Father and son looked at one another, was this young man yelling at nothing? But for the birds it was no big mystery, they understood the man beneath the armour. They understand more than the world thinks they do. The theory of Azure Eagle is that humans are no less than woodland animals. Against a bear, humanity would abandon its own, even use its own as bait. That was the basis of human survival instinct, "its either us or them". But men like Aeon had altered Azure's view, though these men and women did nothing to benefit the hero's cynical view.

"STOP HIDING AND COME OUT OF YOUR HOLES!!!" Azure Eagle yelled.

Slowly, the locks on the doors clicked and people began to walk out. Fifty people in all had stepped out, very few children, mostly men and women in their middle ages.

"You people disgust me, this man calls for help and none of you answer, you just sit and listen…maybe I should have left him to die so I could watch you all shrug your shoulders, "at least we survived" I suppose your all more important than this man here, pensioners, liberals…fat, selfish and smooth talking ASSHOLES!!!"

The men and women looked at this man, confused by his words. Nothing he said made sense to them, but they knew he would get them through this. Azure Eagle grunted, a sound that mirrored the click of an eagle's beak. These people look to him for their survival, just as they looked at Osborn to protect their country. The only difference was that now Azure Eagle was a man with questionable sanity that actually wanted to help.

"I can't believe I'm about to say this but…come with me if you want to live!"

* * *

Aeon slammed his foot into the door, breaking the lock with ease. He looked round the building, moving aside tables as he searched. His sharp hearing heard a breath, a very sharp breath from the closet. Swinging the door open, he closed his eyes as a bullet bounced off his armour. A man was sitting there with a sawn off, loaded with a panicked expression on his face.

"_**Sorry for breaking the lock sir but you need to come with me right away" **_Aeon said in as comforting a voice as possible, which was hard given the fact that the armour altered his voice.

Kurt was having a much better time at finding survivors. Most were people hiding for their lives. The X-man teleported from room to room, finding the people that had been hiding.

**_"It's all right, I'm here to help"_** he said.

Decent people know a hero when they see one, and they saw one in Kurt. Aeon, given the fact that the lack of hope in town was turning his armour black needed to work on his rescue method.

"_**I'll help you find your mother boy but I need you to let go of the lamp post" **_Aeon said gently, holding a young child's shoulders.

The kept his eyes closed, not wanted to look at the armoured man. Aeon grinded his teeth together, he really needed to get this boy to move before Gothica's minions checked the area. The boy was lucky enough not to be found earlier. Aeon wondered what happened to the boy's mother, hoping that she was alive. But logically the only two answers left were the possibility that she died in the rampage of retreating civilians or she left own son to die.

"_**LET GO OF THE POST!!!" **_Aeon snapped the boy out of his trance.

He hated being rough with the child, but at the moment he had no other choice. Kurt was a lighthearted man; despite his appearance he gave people hope. As a public hero it was easy for people to turn to Nightcrawler. But Aeon didn't believe in that form of heroism. Strangers could be heroes, and he was just that a stranger, a man without a face or a name who was doing the right thing. Carrying the boy over his shoulder, Aeon smashed a door open, motioning for people to follow him. Nightcrawler ported onto the streets with several civilians with him.

"Herr Aeon, we will need to find transport soon ja!" Kurt said, taking a few deep breaths to recover his energy.

"_**Find something you can use" **_Aeon said as he put the child in Kurt's arms.

Aeon did a quick head count, Seventeen people so far. There must have been more hiding in the buildings. He ran into a butchers, looking round the kitchen. Gripping the handle of the fridge, he gave it a small tug. Locked from the inside, that meant someone was hiding. Raising his foot, Aeon slammed his armoured boot into the door as hard as he could. The door was smashed open, releasing the cold air as Aeon looked into the room.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!!!" A man yelled, pointing a gun at his face.

"Please help us, he locked us in here, said he would kill me if I tried to help my son" A woman said.

Five people were in the freezer; all of them scared but relieved that someone had come to help. The man with the gun stood his ground, pointing it at Aeon.

"STAY BACK! DON'T YOU SEE HE'S ONE OF THEM! HE'S ONE OF THEIR SUPER HUMANS! HE'S WEARING THEIR COLOURS!!!!"

"_**Stop freaking out!" **_Aeon ordered the man.

"STAY AWAY FROM US I DON'T TRUST YOUR KIND MUTIE!!!"

**_"That's not very nice, I'm trying to help you here so just put the gun down and stop talking now!"_**

"I SAID STAY AWAY!!!"

Aeon sighed before he slammed his fist into the mans face. Dragging the unconscious man across the floor, the other four people followed. As Kurt's group approach, the woman ran at Nightcrawler, grabbing the child he held in his arms. Aeon smiled, watching the reunion as his black armour turned grey.

"Mein Gott, Aeon vhat did you do?" Kurt asked.

**_"He was freaking out so I knocked him out"_**

"Vhere are we going to go?"

Aeon thought for a minute before he looked at the road ahead. Hundreds of Madrox clones were walking towards them. Kurt widened his eyes while the man with the shotgun pointed it towards the approaching army. Aeon grabbed the barrel and lowered it to the ground.

"_**Kurt, take these people and protect them, I'll deal with these guys" **_Aeon said calmly as he lifted off a manhole cover. _**"Go now!"**_

Kurt teleported into the sewers while the civilians climbed down the ladder. Aeon narrowed his eyes at the approaching army. His hands slowly formed fists while he shuffled his feet. Slamming the manhole cover back over the hole, Aeon stood on the hole and waited for his opponents.

* * *

Sam Guthrie knew that his younger days had been far from simpler. Nothing in this life was simple. He'd lost friends, lovers even his brother and over time he had questioned whether it had been because of this life he led. As he and his friends, the original New Mutants including the recently returned Warlock did their part in this disaster he also wondered whether the threat upon this town was one they had made. The New Mutants weren't the most public of teams, and considering the fact that they weren't wearing costumes made it difficult for people to identify them as the good guys.

"Everyone gather around Illyana, she'll take you all to a safe place" Sam said as his friends guided civilians towards Magik.

Resting her soul sword on her shoulder, Illyana chanted the spells for her teleportation. She disappeared with twenty civilians then reappeared alone.

"Good job guys, now lets go and find some more" Cannonball said.

Unbeknownst to the original New Mutants they were watched by two old friends. Douglas Ramsey was killed before his time, yet years later he stood as a man. His powers weren't offensive, but his very presence would be the perfect tool for Gothica. He came from a normal family and was a good friend, incredible scholar and an understanding kind person. Now everything was different, just like Rahne Sinclair. Wolfsbane was reduced to nothing more than a snarling animal, eager for blood. But she wasn't the only one eager for a fight.

* * *

James Proudstar didn't know what the make of the current predicament. Currently he was in the middle of helping people out of their homes. They didn't know where they would go; alls they knew was that they needed to get away from the possibility of danger. And given that the streets were crowded with Madrox duplicates meant that very few places were safe. He jumped out of the window, throwing his two daggers into the heads of two duplicates. None of them were Madrox prime, whoever was attacking Westchester wasn't stupid enough to go into battle with the Madrox Prime. James grabbed a car and threw it into the clones. He then ran into them, slamming his fists into their faces.

"You've got blood on your hands Jamie!" The Duplicates said as they piled on top of James.

The Apache warrior threw them off effortlessly, rolling across the floor and grabbing his daggers. He slashed one across the chest, and then stabbed another through the heart. Kicking another in the chest, James sent the Madrox clone flying into five others. James slid across the floor, tripping three duplicates up, and then he threw a car into another group. Looking behind him, he watched as several civilians got into their cars. With a yell he punched one more Madrox duplicate in the face, throwing him into the other duplicates.

"Stop this Madrox, right now!" James growled.

"Sorry Warpath, but your gonna have to kill us to stop us!" The Madrox's chanted in unison as they jumped on top of James.

* * *

Sam and his team walked through the streets, searching for more survivors. They found several locked up in a building. Magma looked around the area, moving a piece of rubble out of her path. She leant her hand against a wall, sighing at the situation they were in. So much fear and destruction and the telepaths couldn't do anything to ease the tension amongst the civilians. Dani widened her eyes as she felt a familiar presence. It was strange but ever since her encounter with the Phoenix she hadn't only regained her illusion abilities but also her connection with the dead. Her ability to feel the presence of death and feel the souls of the dead as the Asgardian Valkyrie's could. Then she realised how familiar this presence was.

"ILLYANA!! TELEPORT THEM AWAY NOW!!!" Dani yelled.

Warlock raised his head, blinking in confusion before his jaw dropped to the floor. A black disc had covered the building he was standing in front of. Suddenly, the building broke apart and the rubble rained down on Warlock, burying him whilst his teammates watched. Illyana created numerous portals, using them to teleport the civilians away. She held her Soul sword out, preparing for battle. A stream of electricity struck the tip of Illyana's blade, shocking her. Roberto's skin darkened and a flaming aura covered his body. A giant of a man suddenly crashed through the wall, tackling Roberto and grabbing Sam by his head. He threw Sam straight through one of the buildings, and then punched Roberto in the stomach.

"Beef!" Dani said, recognising the deceased Hellion.

"That's impossible, Beef was never this big!" Roberto said, slamming his feet into Beef's chest and throwing him onto the roof of a car.

Beef yelled out, foam dripping out of his mouth as his muscles grew beyond Hulk like. Bevatron fired another blast into Illyana's chest, knocking her into the wall.

"I figured some of our Rogue's gallery wouldn't stay dead" Sam said, shaking his head as he looked out of the window.

He then heard a sound in the distance, it sounded a lot like the engines of a Jet. The Hellion Jet stream burst through the wall, slamming into Sam's back and flying through the building wall and into the ground. Magma's eyes glowed an orange colour as she prepared to aid her teammates. She felt someone breathe against the back of her neck. Amara swung around, widening her eyes at whom she saw. Doug Ramsey stood in front of Amara, an emotionless expression across his face. Catseye and Tarot ran at Dani, the latter creating a scythe from one of her cards. Dani ducked underneath a swing from Tarot, then countered with a punch to the woman's cheek.

"Self soul friend Doug is here must find self-soul friend!" Warlock said, crawling out of the rubble, only to find his way being blocked.

Gothica stood over Warlock, giggling as the Technarch crawled around him. He enjoyed every second of this fight, watching as the old New Mutants faced the Old Hellions. He always liked the old school rivalries. But perhaps the thing that entertained him most was the fear of the New Mutants. Under the influence of MGH the Hellions were more powerful than ever, and they had the added psychological warfare tools. Doug smacked Amara across the head, grabbing the back of her hair and throwing her to the ground. Dani kicked Catseye across the head, and then elbowed Tarot in the chest. Sunspot locked hands with Beef, both powerhouses pushed against one another in an attempt to drag their opponent down.

"You all think that good will prevail over evil, that friendship will overcome the chains of my power…well I've got news for you all…CRUELTY AND SACRIFICE IS THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL BE ABLE TO BEAT ME!!!" Gothica cackled.

"That's fine by me!" Cannonball said, flying straight towards Gothica.

With a smile, Gothica opened his cloak. Sam widened his eyes as Rahne stepped out of the darkness of Gothica's cloak. She was wearing her green Paragon uniform, the one she wore as a teacher at Xavier's. Sam threw himself to the left, rolling across the floor until he slammed into Dani. Doug dragged Amara by her hair with the Hellion Roulette at his side. Sunspot slammed his fist into Beef's face, throwing him straight into a building. Bevatron shot Magik in the chest, knocking her to the ground.

"Rahne, Doug!" Sam said, getting up off the floor.

Doug looked at Sam with cold eyes while a feral grin crossed Rahne's face. Her teeth grew sharper as she walked towards Dani and Sam.

"Self-soul friend Doug, it is me self-soul friend Warlock" Warlock said.

"Don't bother, he doesn't care about any of you anymore" Rahne said. "Neither do I!" she said coldly.

She changed into her werewolf form, grabbing Sam by his hair and lifting him off the floor.

"You're all going to taste good!" She growled.

* * *

Beast sat in the driver's seat of a pick up truck; Deadpool sat beside him while several civilians sat at the back. Brian and Betsy flew over them, keeping their eyes out for any other survivors. Psylocke flew into an alleyway, crouching beside a child that had been hiding. She put a comforting hand on the child's shoulder, smiling as he put his hands away from his face.

"LOOK OUT!!!" He yelled.

Psylocke span around, readying a psionic blade as a group of zombified civilians ran towards her. Suddenly, a shower of blue feathers flew at the un-dead, impaling their heads. Azure Eagle landed in front of Psylocke, the crossbow styled launcher on his wrist began to sink back into his skin. He turned to Psylocke, his eyes glowing blue for a brief period before he huffed.

"Your welcome!" He growled.

"I could have dealt with them myself you know" Psylocke said.

"But you still show gratitude, damn British!"

"You got a problem with the British?" Brian asked.

"Your damn sheep, you follow us into the desert and play along with everything else, Iraq the Registration act, Vietnam was the only smart thing you did" Azure Eagle said. "You'll see a small group of survivors up ahead, hopefully they'll die by the time the day is done" Azure said bitterly before he spread his wings and flew away.

Brian and Betsy watched as Azure Eagle flew away, looking at one another in confusion. That man made Logan look like a gentleman and Deadpool seem sane.

* * *

Rahne slashed Sam across the chest, and then kicked him across the head. Magma tried to fire a blast at Gothica, but the man deflected the beam with his cloak, and then fired a blast of dark energy into Amara's chest.

"My power has grown beyond what any of you can hope to compete with X-men, your still a long way from playing with the big boys" Gothica explained, kicking Dani across her cheek.

Gothica walked to Rahne's side as she changed back into her human form. He gripped her chin, grinning as she bought her face close to his. Sam growled in anger, whilst Warlock crawled towards Doug.

"Self soul friend, please remember!" Warlock said.

The cloaked man merely laughed, as Doug remained emotionless. He licked Rahne across the face, his eyes glowing a fierce red colour as he pushed her away. With a flap of his cloak, black vine like tentacles shot out of his chest. They waved around before wrapping themselves around the New Mutants. Gothica laughed as he lifted the young mutants off the floor. A black mist covered members of the team and for a moment their eyes changed into a black colour.

"That's it, give into your deepest fears, let the darkness take hold of you" Gothica said.

Aeon stood his ground as the Madrox duplicates approached him. Shuffling his feet, Aeon prepared to unleash a burst of energy from his eyes. But despite the current situation he couldn't do it, for fear of killing the Madrox prime. If there was a way to save those under Gothica's control then he would find it. Aeon let the energy pour from his eyes as a mist, holding the energy inside him back as he always did. The Madrox duplicates looked as if they were ready to pounce. But Aeon wouldn't back down, he keep fighting till the end.

Gothica laughed as he continued to shroud the New Mutants in darkness. Soon they would give in and he would have more to add to his army. Then he'd destroy the rest of the X-men, conquer the world and do what Deathblade and Godu before him couldn't do, kill Aeon for good.

"Your all pathetic, you will never overcome my army, because your all too sentimental, you don't have that killer instinct" Gothica said, grinning as Sam and Illyana's bodies went limp.

Aeon raised his hands as the Madrox clones jumped towards him. It reminded him of an anime he watched, when the good guys clones jumped towards the bad guy. Although this time the roles were reversed. But another thing he remembered from that anime was how easy to beat the clones were. Suddenly, multiple feather like arrows flew into the top of the clones heads. The other clones stepped back while Aeon widened his eyes. Azure Eagle landed in front of him, spreading his wings and aiming two crossbows at the clones.

"Leave these idiots to me Sven, you find more ungrateful survivors and the X-men" Azure Eagle said, the beak of his helmet sliding down to cover his face.

Gothica yelled in horror as fiery red swords flew into his tentacles, cutting them apart. The X-men landed on the floor, gasping for breath as the swords hovered above them. They formed together, creating a bigger gold broadsword. Gothica watched as the sword returned to its wielder. He held it in a reverse style, flexing his opposite hand as energy crackled through his fingers.

"They may be afraid to kill old comrades Gothica BUT I'M SURE AS HELL NOT!!!!" Albion roared before he jumped into the battle.

Next Chapter 5: Doubt

* * *

Hope everyone liked the chapter, next we'll see Sieg protecting Laurie and her Mother and Wolverine and X-23 scouting the mansion and facing some old enemies


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 5: Doubt

Sieg had always been encouraged to never doubt himself. Whether it was from the spirit inside his sword or the fire of his heart he never doubted himself. Or at least that's what used to be his attitude. Things were changing, the world was getting darker, new ways for old heroes were needed and new heroes proved to be more corrupt than their predecessors eventually became. Even Sieg was gradually losing his way. He wanted to tear Gothica apart for what he did to Celeste; even now he wanted to kill Deathblade for getting in his way. Sieg swung his sword at Deathblade, who easily ducked underneath the swing. Deathblade flew backwards, throwing his scythe at Sieg. Sieg deflected the blade and watched as a hilt slid out of Deathblade's wrist. The dark anti-hero pulled a blade out of his wrist, his eyes ablaze with fury.

'Easy Sieg, this guy was a rival of Aeon, that's why you can't hold back' Sieg thought.

The young man held his blade out in front of him, closing his eyes as Deathblade flew towards him. When he opened them, his eyes took on a fierce blue glow. Deathblade swung his sword at Sieg, who batted it away with his own blade. Sieg yelled as he horizontally swung his sword at Deathblade. The force of the blade slamming into Deathblade's armour sent the man flying down towards the ground. Sieg shattered his blade, and then released the energy building up inside him, sending it flying straight towards Deathblade.

"AEON'S RIVAL MY ASS!!!" Sieg yelled.

The dust cleared and Sieg smiled, the armour around Deathblade's helmet had shattered. His red hair hung over his eyes, blood dripping from a cut on his forehead. Sieg flew down towards the older man, clicking his fists together.

"James told me about you, he talked as if you were some kind of nightmare, but now your nothing but a small player trying to play the big leagues" Sieg said, creating another copy of his old sword.

"_**You are ignorant!"**_

Deathblade looked up at Sieg, grabbing the fringe of his hair. He threw his hair behind his head and grinned. Sieg widened his eyes; the man looking at him right now was Julian Keller.

"Your ignorant and guilty"

The form of Deathblade shattered, replaced by Hellion in his first uniform. Julian threw his hand forward, creating a blast that shattered Sieg's sword. Sieg slid backwards across the grass, covering his eyes as dust flew at him. Hellion flew at Sieg, splitting into his different incarnations. His first X-men uniform, his yellow and black costume and his civilian clothes. The Four Hellion's flew around Sieg, laughing as they lifted him off the ground.

"Your guilty of inaction, guilty of deception, OF MURDER!!!!" One of the Hellion's yelled, changing into Nuke.

Nuke slammed his fist into Sieg's cheek, sending him stumbling forward.

"You've ruined lives because of your lack of heart" Two other Hellions changed into the Initiative's Komodo and Hardball.

Komodo slashed Sieg across the back and Hardball slammed his fist into Sieg's chest. But Sieg quickly backhanded Hardball, and then grabbed Komodo by her tail and threw her into Nuke. The three enemies disappeared, turning into a mist that obscured Sieg's view. Hellion surrounded himself with a green aura of telekinetic energy, smiling darkly at Sieg.

"You lack a strong heart necessary to control your true power…you could destroy this entire planet if you wanted to" Hellion said.

"Stop it!" Sieg whispered.

Hellion fired a TK blast, hitting Sieg in the chest. The force of the blow knocked him to the ground, blood gushing from his nose. He was starting to get it now, this wasn't a physical battle, it was a mental one.

* * *

X-23 and Wolverine crept through the bushes of the mansion grounds. Both were already adept at stealth because of their black ops training. Logan sniffed at the air with a deep growl. The air was diluted, dirty and unpleasant. Logan had the feeling ever since he accepted his mission and the closer he got to the mansion the worse it became. That feeling was a deep sense of dread, not fear but something without hope. Logan looked through a hole in the bush, Gothica was sitting with his legs crossed, several Church and Friend of Humanity soldiers were standing around him, heavily armed and some even rotting.

'Telepathy don't work, my nose barely works, and something tells me the guy in the cloak is the one behind it all' Logan thought.

'Kill the man in the cloak and stop all this from happening' Laura thought.

Both of them were tempted to pop their claws. But both knew that this man wasn't stupid enough to leave himself unprotected. Logan's ears twitched as he heard something brush against a tree leaf. He pushed Laura to the side as a metallic tentacle flew in between them. Wolverine and X-23 popped out their claws and readied themselves for the battle. Omega Red burst out of the bushes, swinging his tentacles around. X-23 jumped over the tentacles, popping out her leg blades. She flipped towards Red, slashing him across the shoulder. Logan ran forward, stabbing his claws through Omega Red's chest.

"Nice try Wolverine, but not good enough!" Omega Red said, wrapping his tentacles around Wolverine's legs.

He ripped Wolverine's claws off of his chest, spreading his blood and skin across the grass. Omega Red lifted Wolverine off the ground and threw him into X-23. He swung them around, throwing them both towards the steps of the mansion. Jumping onto her feet, X-23 growled as Mammomax, Rusty Collins and Random walked towards her. Wolverine rolled to the side, dodging a crushing swing from Omega red's tentacle. Rising to his feet, Logan deflected a slash from Omega Red. He then roared as he dived at Omega Red, stabbing his claws into his chest. They rolled backwards across the grass, slamming their heads together. Logan then elbowed Omega Red in the head, then followed through with a slash to the Russian mans throat.

"BLAST HER!!!" Mammomax yelled.

Rusty launched a stream of fire at Laura, while Random fired a blast from his Magnum. X-23 leapt to the right, then jumped over a second blast fired by Random. Rusty's second blast made contact, burning X-23's face and half her dress. But she kept running forward, rolling across the floor and slashing Rusty vertically across his chest. She then jumped up, slashing him across the eyes.

"One target eliminated, moving onto next!" X-23 said, her voice hollow as she moved towards Random.

He fired two Magnum blasts, hitting X-23 so hard that she was sent flying into the mansion wall. Wolverine looked at Omega Red in shock, blood was flowing from his throat room but he still moved forward. Omega Red slashed Wolverine across the chest with his tentacles, and then struck his cheek with another strike. He twirled his tentacles around for a bit, pulling his arms back slowly. X-23 ran out of the mansion, sliding across the floor as Mammomax stampeded towards her. She dodged Mammomax's crushing punch, slashing his elbow with her foot blade. Omega red threw his hands forward, stabbing his tentacles through Wolverine's shoulders. Wolverine's skin went pale as he felt Omega Red begin to drain his life energy. Electric shocks suddenly passed through the tentacles, causing Wolverine to yell in agony.

"Logan!" Laura said, intending to aid the man she was cloned from.

However a blast of fire flew into Laura's back, pushing her to the floor. Rusty Collins stood before Laura, his wounds still visible. That's when it hit her, you couldn't kill what was already dead.

* * *

Gloria honestly didn't know how people like Tony Stark and Nick Fury did it. Responding to a crisis was easier said than done. James intelligence was a good thing to have at this point but she couldn't always go running to the smartest men in the world, sometimes a woman had to save it. She looked at the situation in Westchester, there was still no progress with the military effort and the Initiative had all but given up trying to get people inside. Gloria however wouldn't give up yet. She still had a few plans up her sleeve. One that included the Ultimatum and Calvin Rankin. Though he had recently taken a job as a construction worker his powers still remained active, however they had been reset, meaning he'd need to mimic abilities again.

'In theory, the Ultimatum should be able to survive just enough to get through the dome' Gloria thought as she typed in Calvin's number.

Suddenly she heard a creaking sound behind her. Without a moment's hesitation, Gloria pulled her drawer open and reached for the pistol she bought with her. She narrowed her eyes, aiming at the dark figure floating over her.

* * *

Sieg rolled across the floor, dodging a series of TK blasts launched by the apparition of Hellion. No matter how hard he tried to fight this mental attack every time he was hit by a blast it felt as if a bone had broken. Sliding across the floor, Sieg bought his hands up to block a massive blast fired by Hellion. When the dust settled, Sieg put a frown on his face as Hellion disappeared, replaced by Aeon.

"Trying to use him against me?" Sieg asked.

"_**Sorry Sieg, but I'm afraid I agree with Julian…you don't have the heart to control your power" **_Aeon said.

"Shut up, you can't turn my own hero against me" Sieg growled.

Aeon's armour suddenly turned black and a triangular visor appeared over his eyes. He lunged forward, slamming his fist into Sieg's chest. Sieg coughed as Aeon lifted him off the ground, thrusting his fingers into his neck. The young man choked as Aeon held him in place with his fingers.

**_"Have you noticed, that it's been a long time since any ones acted like a hero? This isn't a heroic age Sieg, there will never be a heroic age"_**

"Your wrong!"

_**"No I'm not, the heroes will fall, they will all fall!"**_

"They certainly can be more violent at times, but they still have the best of intentions"

_**"IGNORANT CHILD!!!"**_

Aeon threw Sieg upwards, then slammed his fist into the young mans gut. The force of the punch sent him sliding across the floor. Jumping to his feet, Sieg took another punch to the face. Aeon grabbed Sieg's hair and slammed his head to the ground. Then he grabbed his leg and span him around, throwing him across the grass. Sieg pushed his hands into the ground, trying to pick himself up. His eyes widened as he saw a girl in a white dress walking towards him.

"Celeste!" Sieg said.

The girl smiled as she cupped Sieg's cheeks. She pressed her lips against Sieg's. His eyes remained open, forming into a frown as Celeste tried to shove her tongue down his throat. He pushed her backwards, getting up off the floor.

"You've gone too far Gothica!" Sieg said.

"Sieg its me…don't you love me anymore?" Celeste asked.

"I'm with someone else right now…did you really think you could use past loves against me?"

"Oh Sieg, don't you see…I'm going to die" Celeste said, tears falling down her face.

"Shut up!" Sieg growled.

"Oh Sieg, please tell me you love me again…please!"

Suddenly a blade burst through Celeste's chest. Sieg widened his eyes as Aeon held Celeste's shoulders, ripping his wrist blade from her chest.

"_**Sieg, I'm not the one whose going to kill her"**_ Aeon said as his helmet shattered, revealing the face of Sieg "You are!" He grinned.

"SHUT UP!!!" Sieg yelled.

He punched the copy of himself across the face, grinding his teeth together as the copy grinned back at him. Sieg slammed his fist into the copy's chest, causing it to disappear in an explosion of dark energy. The force of the explosion sent Sieg sliding across the grass, coughing a black substance out of his mouth. He tried to get up off the floor, continuing to spit the black substance out as his eyes took on a black tone.

"Damn it…damn it, I don't know what to do anymore" Sieg said, punching the ground in frustration.

Far away from the young mans personal struggle, Laurie sat in a neighbour's house, looking out of the window away from the people huddled together. They were all hiding when they needed to be running. But Laurie couldn't bring herself to give the people courage; she couldn't manipulate them like that. Forcing someone to be courageous was meaningless, ruining the whole point of having courage. Her abilities would make her one of the most powerful women alive but she knew that she was just flesh and bone, an ordinary human with no right to control others lives. But part of her wanted to help her friends, to help Sieg overcome the battle he was fighting.

"Laurie, please get away from the window" Her mother said, drawing her attention away from the window for just a small moment.

"Mom, please don't bother me" Laurie said, causing her mother to widen her eyes in shock.

"Laurie what is wrong with you?" She asked.

"I can feel it mom, all the emotion, the sorrow, even the madness of the person causing this and yet…hope still remains, there are people outside these walls that know the risks and are risking their lives anyway…I should be like that, I should be as courageous as that" Laurie explained, looking back at the outside of the window.

"Laurie you already did enough to help during the invasion"

"Enough…there is no doing enough when it comes to the right thing, its something you should do all the time" Laurie said.

"You're my daughter Laurie, I can't lose you again"

"You wont mom, but I can't just be your helpless little girl, I need to stand tall and strong, I need to do something to help"

"Laurie, don't go out there"

Sieg got up off the floor, only to be hit by a blast of dark energy. He rolled across the floor, stopping at someone's feet. Looking up, Sieg grinded his teeth together, looking up at Gothica. The hooded man had a grin on his face, with the mutant Destiny and Wither standing beside him. Gothica grabbed Sieg's fringe, lifting him off the grass. He pulled his fist back, slamming it into Sieg's jaw. Then he pulled his arm back a second time and threw his palm into Sieg's chest, releasing a pulse that sent Sieg flying backwards. He slammed into the side of a house, wood splinters covering his back as he forced himself off the ground. No one was in the house; Laurie had everyone gather at another house.

"That's my girl" Sieg said with a smile.

"She's not your girl Sieg, she's mine!"

Looking to the staircase, Sieg growled as Elixir walked down the stairs. He wasn't truly Elixir; he couldn't remember the last time Josh turned his skin completely black. The Black Elixir traced his finger across Sieg's cheek. Sieg yelled in agony as the skin on his right skin withered, crumbling off to reveal muscle and bone. He stepped backwards, clutching his cheek and breathing deeply, trying to fight the agony he felt. Gothica stepped into the ruined house, smiling at the confrontation.

"I'd never stop loving her Sieg, I'm like you, staying with Loa out of some sad sense of honour" The Black Elixir said.

"Even if that's true for him, it's not true for me" Sieg said.

"Your lying Sieg, Aeon wouldn't be very happy with that" Gothica laughed.

Elixir tried to grab Sieg, but the young man rolled backwards, thrusting his feet into Elixir's stomach. The force of the kick forced him backwards, but it didn't seem to really hurt him. Josh tore his shirt off, motioning for Sieg to run at him. But Sieg wouldn't be hoaxed into a fight with a shirtless Elixir. He turned to Gothica instead, gathering energy into his hand. Releasing the energy in his left hand, Sieg knocked Gothica out off the house. Then he broke off into a run, gathering more energy into his hand. Suddenly, Destiny drew out her crossbow, firing a bolt into Sieg's hand. Gothica thrust his hand forward, causing the ground around Sieg to disappear. Sieg crossed his arms, trying to protect himself from whatever attack Gothica had launched. He paused for a moment, wondering what had happened. Suddenly, Sieg fell to his knees, coughing out blood.

"I just made a part of one of your arteries disappear, internal bleedings going to be a bitch you know" Gothica giggled.

"Impossible, what the hell was that, molecule manipulation?" Sieg wondered.

"Think a little bigger Sieg, my powers will be limitless soon and your lungs will fill with blood…tell me Destiny if some miracle Sieg survives this encounter what awaits in his future?" Gothica asked the woman standing beside him.

"He will fall into darkness, he will come to worship and love the ruler of the darkness" Destiny said.

Gothica grinned while Sieg got off the floor, blood dripping out of his mouth.

"Don't you see Sieg, your damned if you do and damned if you don't, you can't fight your fears or your Destiny, abandon your hopes"

* * *

At the mansion, X-23 and Wolverine stood back-to-back, Mammomax, Random and Omega Red both surrounding them. Logan jumped at Omega Red, slicing off the mans right arm. Then he dug his claws into Omega Red's chest, lifting him off the ground. He rolled backwards, throwing Omega Red into Random so hard that the two of them rolled backwards across the floor. Mammomax swung his fist downwards at X-23, who back flipped, avoiding the crushing punch. Then she jumped onto Mammomax's arm, digging all of her claws into his skin. He swatted at her with his other arm, but X-23 jumped onto Mammomax's knee, slashing him across the thigh.

"You little bitch!" He growled.

Laura then jumped with all her strength, launching herself at Mammomax's head. Her claws pierced through his trunk, causing him to yell in total fury. Logan ran through Mammomax's legs, cutting the giant's heels. X-23 then swung off of Mammomax's trunk and slashed him across the throat. As the gargantuan mutant slammed into the ground, X-23 lightly rolled across the grass, coming to a stop at her next opponent. However she never had a chance to attack, as a mass of dark energy wrapped itself around her form.

"LAURA!!!" Wolverine yelled.

X-23 felt cold, more so than she had ever felt in her life. The darkness spread across her body, practically swallowing her form. Logan watched as the darkness took Laura and oozed into the ground, disappearing. He growled, grinding his feral teeth together as his eyes shined with the fury of a Wolverine. His opponent merely chuckled, taking a step towards him in a confident stride. The mans blonde hair hung over his shoulders, no light shone off his blood stained clawed hands. He wore the costume he had been killed in, brown and orange, with fur on his shoulders.

"Never thought I'd be bought out this early, now that the mini you is out of the way its time for us to have some fun runt!" The savage grinned, his teeth as long and sharp as a knife.

"So you trade being controlled by Romulus to being controlled by pale face…cant say I'm surprised" Logan said gruffly.

"Ready to get your tongue ripped out?"

"LET HER RIP SABRETOOTH!!!"

Whilst two bitter enemies reignited their rivalry, a blue eagle soared over a battlefield. Azure Eagle stood in the centre of an army of Madrox duplicates. He raised his crossbows, crossing his arms and clearly frowning underneath his helmet. His eyes flashed before the Madrox's sprung their attack.

Next Chapter 6: A Flock against an Army

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next we see Azure Eagle battle the Madrox duplicates, and some of the other X-men find more survivors


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 6: A Flock against an army

Azure Eagle was a stupendous marksman, firing five bolts from his crossbow, hitting his five targets right between the eyes. The Madrox duplicates continued to multiply, jumping at Azure Eagle. They tried to grab him, but with one flap of his right wing, he pushed several of the clones aside. Moving forward, Azure Eagle jumped and landed on an enemy's neck. With a twist of his foot he broke the mans neck, then fired his two crossbow's, hitting ten clones in their chests. One tried to grab him, but the blue antihero kicked him in the jaw with all his strength, shattering his skull. He jumped onto the top of a car, firing several more bolts. The Madrox clones gathered around him, trying to climb onto the car. He kicked one in the face, then jumped upwards as another tried to hit him with a pipe. Azure Eagle glided in midair, unleashing a hail of feathers that impaled his opponents. When he landed, a Madrox duplicate jumped onto his back, wrapping his arms around his neck.

"IDIOT!" Azure yelled, slamming the back of his head into the duplicate.

He then kicked the clone in the stomach, shattering his ribs. Firing his crossbows again, Azure Eagle impaled seven more heads. Five Madrox's got close to him, slamming their fists into his face. They widened they eyes as Azure Eagle stood motionless, the punches having no effect on his armour.

"Retards, your not on the side of good anymore Madrox…SO FIGHTING A BATTLE YOU CANT WIN IS JUST STUPID NOW!!!!" He yelled as his eyes flashed a blue colour.

His wings unleashed a flash of energy that knocked the duplicates back. Azure Eagle then shaped his crossbows into a pair of gun blades, running straight into the army of Madrox's. He span around, his blades and wings cutting apart Madrox clones.

"IS THAT ALL OF YOU'VE GOT!! NUMBERS IS ALL YOU'VE GOT GOING FOR YOU MADROX!!!"

A Madrox clone smacked him across the head with a crowbar. But Azure Eagle countered with a head butt, shattering the mans skull. His gun blades and wings glowed as he faced down an ever-growing army.

"Your friends would have come to despise you, to insult your very existence…because your power is useless and uncontrollable, only fit for grunt work" Azure Eagle said as he beheaded two clones. "That's why Gothica controls you, that's why your only good as a soldier, you had no emotional ties, the child you had with Cassidy was merely another clone, she would have come to despise you as everyone else would have, for something that was out of your control the entire team would have THROWN YOU ASIDE!!!!"

Two Madrox duplicates grabbed Azure Eagle's arms whilst three more jumped on his back. He flew into the air, swooping downwards and throwing the two Madrox's on his arms off. Three more ran and jumped off of the roof of a car, grabbing Azure Eagle's legs. Azure Eagle tried to fly higher but grunted as someone tugged on his legs. The Madrox duplicates began forming a chain on the ground; one dupe would hold another's legs while one held Azure's heels firmly. With an annoyed sigh, Azure flew higher and higher, and with every foot he flew another Madrox dupe was added to the chain. He reached the top of the dome, his head barely touching the dark energy around the dome. Then he stopped flapping his wings and let gravity do the rest.

* * *

Storm flew through the air, looking over the streets of Westchester. Beside her flew Sunfire, former X-man and often and an ambiguous ally. Flames, much like the form he took as a Horseman of Apocalypse, although this time he didn't wear the skull mask, surrounded his body. Shiro had been on edge ever since he volunteered to go on aerial reconnaissance with Ororo. Anyone could already be under Gothica's control; the recently killed could be converted into Gothica's soldiers. They landed on the roof of a small building.

"We'll split up and look for any survivors inside" Storm said.

Sunfire nodded his head, hovering to the streets below. He noticed the bodies lying around. People were being killed and yet they weren't coming back as Gothica's minions. Shiro wasn't about to take any chances, he knew what Scott was doing at the cemetery, and so he decided to follow the X-man's example. He gave one body a small kick, seeing whether it wasn't just a poor man playing dead. The kick gained no reaction. Then Shiro pressed his finger against the mans neck, checking for a pulse.

"Better to die here than be dishonoured as a slave" Sunfire said as he raised his hand.

Fire burst forth from Shiro's hand, setting the mans body alight. Ororo walked through the dark corridor of an apartment complex, floating off of the floorboards. She pushed a door open with a small gust of wind. Waiting for her were six people, each one looking at her with fear.

"It's okay, I'm going to take you to a safe place" Storm said.

Though apprehensive, they knew that going with Storm was better than waiting in their rooms. Opening a window, Storm floated herself and the six civilians down to the streets. She widened her eyes; several bodies on the street had been set alight. Ororo used a gust of wind to put the flames out, glaring as Shiro kicked a door down, bringing out several more civilians.

"Shiro, what the hell are you doing?" Storm asked.

"Making sure a madman cant grow his army, this fate is better for them Munroe" Shiro said.

"The families must have something left to bury"

"They'll still have possessions and memories, that's all the dead leave the ones they leave behind" Shiro said as he pointed the civilians in the direction of the shelter.

"Shiro, you go with them and keep them safe" Ororo said.

"No, that task is better suited to you Munroe, I will go on ahead and scout the area, look for more survivors and protect them until you find us" Shiro explained. "Go Storm, you know I'm right about this"

In defeat, Ororo lowered her head as Sunfire took to the skies. She raised her hands, using a strong but gentle wind to lift the civilians into the air and fly them towards the shelter. Across town, Cipher, Dazzler, Darwin and Rictor walked with several other survivors. Falling behind them was Shatterstar, checking the buildings and shops they left. He kicked down one door, gripping the handle of the sword on his back as he looked into the room. Walking further into the room, Shatterstar's eye glowed for a moment as the floorboards creaked.

"Whoever's hiding step into the light now, if you are alive then your safe, if your dead then I'll run you through" Shatterstar threatened.

The floorboard creaked again and Shatterstar held his sword at the ready. Shatterstar dropped into a fighting stance as he heard a clicking sound. Suddenly, light engulfed the room as a flare was lit. The young warrior shuffled his knees and held his sword with both hands, grinding his teeth together as pale-faced men and women surrounded him. At the centre of the group was a resurrected former X-man, holding the flare with his eyes glowing a sinister red colour. Shatterstar narrowed his eyes, glaring at Longshot as he smirked. Rubbing against the mans chest was his former wife's half sister Lois London, AKA Mortis.

"Sorry kid but your gonna need a little more luck to get you out of this one" Longshot smirked.

* * *

Nightcrawler lifted the manhole cover up, looking out for anyone in the streets. He widened his eyes when he saw an eyeball roll towards him.

"Well look what we've got here Cheri, some new additions to our little band"

Kurt looked up, sighing in relief as Gambit offered him a hand up. After Kurt came the other survivors he was guiding, all of whom looked in horror at the torn remains of the Purifiers. Rogue slammed the hood of a car down, wiping her hands together as she went to hot-wiring the car.

"Come on Cheri, I'm sure we can find something bigger for our new friends" Gambit said, retracting his pole and putting it on his belt.

"Look Remy I thought our original plan was still in effect, find some walking dead and make sure they don't walk" Rogue said.

"Yeah but your brothers gonna need somebody to help him with the fine civilians, you know Remy ain't no hero"

Rogue tied two wires together and smiled as the engine roared to life. She got off her seat and pulled on Remy's collar, pressing her lips against his.

"That's exactly what you are to me" She said.

"Oh, I thought I was the charming swamp rat" Gambit smirked.

"Charming no…swamp rat definitely"

"Oh you wound me love"

"Ahem!" Nightcrawler coughed.

Kurt tapped his foot against the floor as Gambit and Rogue separated. Rogue looked over a school bus, popping the hood open and looking over the engine. There was no major damage to the engine and the bus itself was in an average shape. A few broken windows and scratched off paint, but it was still usable. Gambit sat in the car that Rogue had gotten running and tuned the radio, continually turning the dial with no effect. The only thing that came of Gambit's effort was continual static. Kurt ported into one of the houses, looking for any more survivors. He found two bodies, or at least what was left of them. They were like husks, skin grey and bony, their faces locked in a horrified gaze.

"Mein Gott, vatch over them heavenly father…vatch over us all" Kurt said before teleporting back onto the streets.

"They're all dead Kurt, Rogue and I checked every room, you saw the bodies right…Remy thinks they were either drained of their life…or just withered away" Gambit explained.

"Vhat are you suggesting Gambit?" Kurt asked.

"Selene was apparently killed by Driver, every cell in her body disintegrated, someone with a similar death touch is Kevin Ford, we never heard anything from him after he ran off, the Skrull impersonating Scott never tried to find him and Frost sure didn't give a damn"

"Ve Vere all so busy with everything else that ve never made the time to find him…but I suppose the real reason was because ve didn't think of him enough to look for him, I'm not going to lie Gambit, there vere just times vhen ve never looked out for our friends, even though ve should of" Kurt explained, sitting on the pavement and watching as Gambit continued to work on the radio.

"Coulda, shoulda, woulda but didn't…but then again old Remy ain't one to talk, everyone in the X-men's guilty of inaction Kurt, we just gotta think of the good we've done so far"

"Is there ever a time vhen ve get peace, vhen an issue is fixed and not leading to another…"

Gambit hushed as a voice came through on the radio.

"_Hello, is there anyone out there?" _A woman's voice asked over the radio.

The Radio in Rogue's bus suddenly came to life as well. Any radio in Westchester, whether it was plugged in or not switched itself on. At the shelter, Rachel and Elixir looked at the radio and shivered in fear as they heard the woman's voice. She was desperately calling for help, begging for someone to save her.

"_There are five of us hidden in a bakery, people are trying to break in but we've managed to barricade them out…someone please come and help us we cant hold them off forever" _The woman said desperately.

Kurt looked to Gambit, who shook his head. Jean looked at the radio for a moment, lowering her head as she heard crashing sounds.

"_They're clawing at the glass…oh god" _This time it was a man who spoke and the X-men listening knew that it was a different person in a different place.

_"God, we have children and wounded here, my dad was cut down by some big guy with a red bandana, but he came back…he killed my wife…they're coming, I can hear them!"_

"_This is officer Reagan, my men and I are pinned down we need immediate support"_

"_If there's anyone listening out there please talk to me…I'm bleeding, can feel my life slipping"_

Rogue rubbed her eyes as she continued to work. Across town, Aeon climbed out of the sewers, his ears twitching as he heard the voices on a police car radio. He walked over to the car, pulling the dead officer out. Aeon looked at the radio, lowering his head, for the radio itself was broken and so he wouldn't be able to talk to them back.

"_Oh no, they're breaking through…SOMEONE PLEASE!!!!"_

Windows shattering, doors getting smashed open, that's what Aeon and the X-men, heard. Sven rubbed his eyes, listening to the chaos. He needed to hear this, needed to hear the people he couldn't save. For a moment there was screams, then there was static until another voice came through.

"_Is there anyone out there?"_

Azure Eagle heard the voices; he heard a lot of voices. Some were the voices in his head, some were the voices carried by the radio waves he intercepted. Gothica was using a mutant, or perhaps his own growing power to activate radios, to let survivors know that there was no hope and torture the X-men for their inability to save others. But he wasn't so easy to depress, Azure Eagle merely focused on the Madrox dupes, each one of them talking back at him, denying the things he had said.

"You don't know a thing about the X-men, they never abandon friends" Madrox said.

"THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THEY DO AND YOU KNOW IT!!!!" Azure Eagle yelled, impaling two dupes.

His opponents jumped on top of him, weighing him down as he hovered off the ground. He slashed one across the throat and stabbed another between the eyes. Two Madrox's punched him across the head with little effect. Flapping his wings, Azure Eagle threw several dupes away from him, beheading two with one swing of his sword.

"They don't abandon one another" Madrox said, a tear running down his face.

"You know that's what they do Madrox, they didn't give a damn, they never thought anything through…those children that died un their care could have been saved…Laurie Collins wouldn't have died the first time if Frost had ENFORCED a curfew" Azure Eagle explained, throwing one of his swords into the Madrox dupes head. "As soon as they learned Danielle Moonstar wasn't a mutant any more they just said "oh well your not one of us you cant stay here anymore", THROWING ASIDE FRIENDSHIP! FOR WHAT! SECURITY! The Purifiers despised everything to do with mutants, it was perfectly obvious they were going to kill anyone who is or had been a mutant! Kevin Ford is a classic example, did they pursue him?"

"Frost had us watch him" Madrox said before another sword flew through his chest.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT HUH! Oh we're watching him he's gonna be fine! ITS NOT AS IF HE ISNT FUCKED IN THE HEAD AND IN DESPERATE NEED OF HELP!!!" Azure yelled out, picking his sword up off the ground and pointing it towards another dupe.

"Your no X-man, your no hero" Madrox said.

"And your not even Madrox, your just a guy with the same name and face, guess what bastard every last single X-man, every last single one of them CAN PERISH IN MY FLOCK!!!!!"

The armoured man slammed his sword into the ground, creating a burst of electricity that travelled from his arm to his wings. Madrox began to create more dupes, getting ready to attack his opponent again. Azure Eagle's feathers glowed a bright blue colour before they suddenly flew off. The hundreds of feathers shifted into blue eagles, swarming into the Madrox dupes with incredible force. Azure Eagle flexed his arms, turning his back to the flock as it consumed the Madrox clones.

"The birds will poke out your eyes, your not the prime Madrox, but eventually you'll slip up and the only clones you'll be able to create are clones without eyes….I don't like the X-men, but I'm here to do something to help…if that means killing some of their returned friends then that's what I'll do…I promise you this Madrox prime, I will find you and I will put you out of your misery" Azure Eagle said as his wings began to gradually grow back.

* * *

Aeon continued to listen to the radio, gripping the edge of the car door with a mixture of anger and despair. This woman speaking knew she would be dead soon and there was nothing she could do about it.

"_My name is Lila Miller, I'm a architect, I was here on business for Crowner Corporation…if anyone can hear me please make sure my daughter gets this message…" _The woman took a deep breath, fighting back tears as she heard the footsteps. _"I'm sorry I couldn't read the rest of the wizard of oz Jill…you listen to Daddy for me okay, you listen to him and take care of him Mommy loves you, SHE'LL ALWAYS LOVE YOU!!!!"_

There was a crash and then silence. Aeon lowered his eyes, tears falling from his eyes as the radio went dead.

"_**Damn it! Damn it!" **_He said as he wiped his eyes.

He continued to cry even as he ripped the door off and threw it into the people sneaking behind him. Pyro, Berserker, Siryn, Strong Guy, Senyaka and Blink scattered as Aeon began to breath heavily. His arm began to glow a blue colour as mist emanated from it. Armour flashing red, Sven slammed his fist into the ground. The blue light disappeared and Aeon's armour took on a dull gold and black colour, his armour taking on a sharper appearance matching the rage he felt.

_"**I'm Aeon…I don't kill…BUT I CAN STILL THROW YOU ALL BACK INTO HELL!!!!"**_

Next Chapter 7: Soul friends

* * *

Next chapter we come back to Albion and the old New Mutants, plus Gloria faces some troubles of her own


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 7: Soul Friend

Lazlo looked at the Hellions around him and then to the New Mutants. They were disorientated, Lazlo had never felt the effects of Gothica's cloak before but imagined the aftermath was like a really bad hangover. Yet he still understood the effect that the darkness could have on people, and if Gothica was enhancing his powers with drugs then the corrupting influence of the darkness must have been crippling to the mind. But the New Mutants were still standing, it awaited to be seen whether they would A) Fall into a Coma, B) Go insane or C) Fall into Gothica's philosophy. Albion glared as Gothica twisted his face into a grin, his skin getting darker as he faded away.

"GET HIM!!!" Bevaron yelled.

Albion stabbed his sword into the ground, using as a shield to block Beef's punch. Electricity suddenly passed through the blade, shocking Beef and throwing him backwards. The ground then shook, knocking down Hellion and New Mutant alike. Albion then dragged his sword through the ground, running towards Jet stream, who flew into the air. Looking up, Albion assessed Jet streams powers. He wasn't using any equipment for his powers; the drugs he took must have increased his abilities to the point where it didn't damage his body anymore. Casually blocking Bevaron's energy blast, Lazlo swung around, ducking underneath the swing of a scythe. Tarot held a scythe in her hand, with two solid grim reapers beside her. He blocked three slashes that sent him sliding backwards.

"GET BEHIND HIM!!!" Doug yelled at Catseye and Wolfsbane.

The two feral mutants ran in their animal forms. Albion turned around; ready to meet them head on. However Beef ran at him from the side, swinging a punch towards him. Lazlo looked forward and then to his left, before he jumped upwards. Beef's fist slammed into Wolfsbane, knocking her into Catseye and sending them flying like a rag doll into a building. Albion then flipped in midair, swinging his sword towards Beef's head.

"Bad luck I'm afraid!" Roulette said with a giggle.

Upon contact with Beef's hair, Lazlo's sword suddenly shattered. He widened his eyes before taking a punch to the chin, sending him flying into the air. Jetstream then crashed into his stomach, slamming him back first into the ground so hard that the pavement cracked.

"That would have been messy" Beef said, rubbing his head.

Roulette smiled, a black disc around her hand. It shifted into a red one as Jetstream slammed his fist into Albion's head, increasing the force of the punch with his powers. Albion's helmet cracked as Jetstream got off of his chest. The Hellions crowded around Albion as he struggled to get off the floor.

'Armour absorbed any force that would seriously crippled me, but not enough to stop my back from hurting like hell' Albion thought, rubbing his back and cursing as there were several cracks in his armour.

"You didn't actually think you could beat us all did you, especially when we're juiced up like this" Beef said with a laugh.

"But Beef, your juiced anyway" Doug said, _I speak funny!_

Beef growled in anger while Lazlo laughed, a piece of his helmet falling off to reveal his right eye.

"I think your on the wrong side, your too nice a guy to be with them" Lazlo said.

_Statements true0 He speaks truth1 Gothica speak truth1 Wait0 confusion1 What language is this0 What language is he0 What language am I0 Enemy's voice1 Shows confidence1 Current situation part of0 his plan!_

"He is distracting us" Doug said.

Beef and Bevaron turned around, widening their eyes as Cannonball clotheslined them, dragging them across the ground as he flew past Albion. Magik stabbed her sword into Roulette's chest, while Dani kicked Tarot in the face. Amara threw a ball of Magma at Jetstreams head, causing him to scream in agony.

"Little bitch, you can't kill me!" Jetstream said as the skin on his face grew back.

"Yeah, ain't it great…" Roberto began.

"No reason to hold back" Cannonball finished as he tore off Bevaron's arms.

_Tones of voices0 indicate confidence and1 amusement0 statements during fighting0 fight banter1 what language are they0_

Wolfsbane and Catseye jumped at Albion and Sunspot. But Roberto grabbed Rahne's legs, throwing her to the ground. Albion slammed his fist into Catseye's head, then grabbed her nose and kneed her chin.

"Stop struggling Rahne, we don't want to hurt you" Karma said, trying to reach into Rahne's mind.

Karma screamed as she clutched her head, falling to her knees with blood running out of her nose.

"What are you seeing in there Shan?" Roberto asked.

"Nothing…there's nothing"

Albion threw Catseye to the side, growling as she landed on her fleet. Catseye leapt towards Albion, slashing him across the chest. But the claws only brushed his armour before he countered with a knee to her neck. Grabbing her tail, Albion dragged her across the floor before throwing her into Jetstream. He then gathered energy into his hand and fired a blast that knocked the Hellion's through a building. Doug stood watching the scene while Roberto and Karma tried to pin Rahne to the ground.

_Patterns in voices1 indicate concern1 Wait0 Not concern1 different language0 What language is it1 Gothica speaks chaos0 After chaos comes death1 after death comes peace0 silence1 I was off1 then I was on0 why am I back on0 what language am I0_

Cannonball tackled Beef, trying to push him back. But the young man increased his side and grabbed Sam's legs. Ignoring the flames burning his hands, Beef threw Sam into Sunspot's back. The two-team mates rolled across the floor, stopping at Warlock's feet.

"Self friends, new strategy is needed" Warlock pointed out.

Dani rolled backwards to avoid a slash from Tarot's scythe and Karma covered her face as Catseye slashed at her. Illyana swung her sword at Roulette, who ducked then kicked her across the head. She flipped backwards, red discs sticking to her feet as she dodged every swing of Magik's sword. Then she slammed her foot into Dani's stomach. Jetstream rammed his elbow into Magma's side, then lifted her off the ground and crashed into Sunspot.

"RAMSEY DON'T JUST STAND THERE GET MY ARMS!!!!" Bevaron yelled.

_He speaks anger1 No he speaks desperation0_

"WARLOCK HELP!!!" Dani yelled, diving away from Beef as he slammed his fist into the ground.

Albion fired two blasts into Roulette and Tarot, raising his fist as he approached Beef. He tried to punch the bigger man, but cursed as he tripped over a gas pipe.

"This bad luck and good luck crap is really pissing me off" Albion growled.

"Yea but I love it" Beef said, raising his arm.

Albion grabbed Dani and threw her to the left as Beef swung his fist downwards. The force of his punch shook the very ground.

"GAAAAAAAGH!!!!!" Albion yelled as the armour around his left shoulder cracked. 'Dislocated shoulder…. damn it fight the pain Lazlo'

He fired a blast through Beef's stomach, and then summoned another sword, cutting off Beef's legs. Albion jumped off of Beef's head and landed a few feet away from Cypher. Stabbed his sword into the ground, Albion pulled on his arm, grunting as he clicked his shoulder back into place. He looked towards Doug, and then pulled his sword out of the ground.

"I'm sorry but I'm afraid I'll have to send you back to where you belong" Albion said, raising his sword.

He took a step forward, but stopped as Warlock stepped in his way.

"Self will not let you hurt self soul friend!" Warlock said defiantly.

* * *

Gloria fired her pistol, the bullets flying into the dark figure. He threw off his cloak, revealing himself to be Gothica. Gloria ducked as he swung the edge of his cloak at her. Then she dived over her desk, rolling across the floor and firing more bullets at Gothica. He grinned as the bullets stopped in midair, melting into tar.

"How, you can't be here!" Gloria said in shock.

"You smart Gloria, come on think about it…how could I possibly be in two places at once?" Gothica asked with a grin

With a thrust of Gothica's arm, Gloria was thrown across the room, her gun sliding across the floor. She rolled onto her feet, gasping as Gothica grabbed her throat and slammed her against the wall. Kicking Gothica's chest, Gloria gasped for air.

"Your pathetic Gloria, if only you had your old power…you know you and Cade were the only people I feared now…Cade is dead and you are reduced to pathetic secretary work for Aeon's friend…pathetic, pining over a man who will never be yours, hoping for a world that will never come and of course your current situation, powerless victim…with no defence against those who are superior to her in everyway" Gothica explained.

Gloria grinded her teeth together, glaring at Gothica as he grinned.

"What's your plan, talking me to death?" She asked.

"There are hundreds of ways I could kill you, breaking your neck is one" Gothica grinned.

The sound of her neck breaking echoed through the room. Her body fell limp to the floor and Gothica smiled as he clicked his fingers. Gloria's body glowed a pink colour before she sat up, widening her eyes in shock as she touched her neck.

"Have you figured it out yet Gloria?" Gothica asked.

She shuffled backwards as Gothica looked at her, his eyes glowing a violet colour. He raised his hand, pink mist rising from his finger as he pointed at Gothica. Suddenly, blood flowed out of Gloria's mouth. She clutched her chest, gasping for breath.

"Making your internal organs disappear, teleporting your waist out, tearing you apart, disintegrating your entire body" Gothica listed and every description happened for Gloria.

Again and again she was killed and bought back, experiencing her death time and time again. She had felt pain before; she had been through both physical and mental tortures. Interrogation methods, psychic rape, abuse as a child and psychological trauma that broke her in the past. But this experience with Gothica was beyond agonising, yet she had to endure. Her breathing was heavy as she crawled across the floor.

"I'm not done yet Gloria, there are millions of ways I could erase you from existence and then recreate you…maybe I could have you reincarnated some how, or perhaps I could just completely wipe every act you've ever committed, including peoples memories of you"

"I understand now…how you're doing what you doing in Westchester" Gloria said.

"You didn't think I'd get all that power from drugs did you, my powers have developed over the years but they aren't that good"

"It's not just Eli Bard, how else could you resurrect people, even bring back those with no bodies to bury"

"Are you talking about Blink…typical heroic stupidity, she was heroic to take the risk she made but the sad thing is that she wasn't actually dead, merely trapped" Gothica explained.

Gloria widened her eyes while Gothica burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"That's the most hilarious thing, Selene freed her from the dimension she was trapped in and fed her some bullshit about how all her friends abandoned her" Gothica paused to laugh, closing his eyes as he stepped backwards, clutching his sides "SHE BELIEVED EVERY WORD SHE WAS TOLD! SHE BECAME A MURDERER AT THE DROP OF A HAT! DON'T YOU SEE GLORIA THAT'S WHY IT'S SO FUNNY!!! PEOPLE ARENT GOOD! THEY'RE ALL CORRUPT! AFRAID!! DEAD!!!"

"Shut up you crazy bastard" Gloria said.

"Did you figure out how I'm doing all this huh, magic? Telekinesis? Molecule manipulation?"

"Reality manipulation…you're controlling the building blocks of our world itself" Gloria whispered.

"YES THAT'S IT!!!"

"But how did you achieve this power…your powers wouldn't have evolved like this, reality itself changed after M-Day, Sieg's destruction of the M'Kran crystal must have had some butterfly effect as well just as the actions of you two" Gloria said, looking up at Gothica.

"Two…oh it didn't take too long for you to figure it out" Gothica said, lifting off his hood to reveal his decaying white hair and his cracking skin.

"Your possessed, possessed by one of the X-men's most powerful and deadly villains"

"Go on say his name, I'll play the dramatic music" Gothica grinned.

"Proteus!" Gloria growled.

Gothica clapped his hands, laughing insanely as the room began to melt. He looked down at Gothica and picked her up by her cheek. A smile crept across Gloria's face as she chuckled.

"You're the pathetic one Gothica…. look at yourself, you've sacrificed your soul for the sake of spreading fear, you play with powers you have no understanding of, no care for the butterfly effects you will cause with this power…and perhaps the funniest thing of all is the fact that you now think of yourself as some S-Class threat to the world, but your still just a pathetic little man trying to hide his insecurities, your still someone else's tool….still pathetic" Gloria laughed.

Gothica grinded his teeth together, she was defiant till the end. She insulted him and mocked his plan for the world.

"You bitch!" He growled.

With one thrust of his hand, Gothica ended the woman's life, tearing his hand through her chest. He threw her body to the ground, rubbing the blood on his hands. Looking down at the body Gothica widened his eyes. She still had a smile on her face. Gothica looked towards her computer screen, he flew towards her desk and looked at the screen. It read, "Message sent!" before a timer appeared.

5

4

3

2

"OH SH…"

The warehouse that Gloria had been working in was suddenly consumed in a mushroom of fire. Far away from the warehouse, Calvin Rankin awoke from his bed. He walked over to his computer and checked his messages.

_It's time for you to play the hero! Look outside your apartment._

Looking at the email in confusion, Calvin drew his curtains and widened his eyes. Floating in front of his apartment complex was a small version of the Ultimatum. A small hatch opened and Calvin lowered his head. He had seen the news reports and he knew that the Initiative wasn't having any progress.

'Maybe there is something I can do' Calvin thought.

"So are you coming or not?"

Calvin looked up and blinked in surprise. Standing at the hatch was a black haired man with tanned skin, wearing a leather X-men outfit. Beside him was a woman, who Calvin recognised as Meggan Braddock, James Braddock's wife recently returned from the dead.

"Come on Calvin the twins are getting impatient and Mr Wisdom thinks he can control the jet" Meggan said, offering the man her hand.

Calvin smiled and nodded his head before running to his bed. He pulled a back out from under it and ran towards the window.

'Don't worry Sven, I'm coming!' he thought before jumping into the ship.

* * *

Albion looked at Warlock, who looked straight back. Neither one blinked as their hands shook.

"There may not be a way to save him" Albion said.

"Self believes there is a way" Warlock said.

"Why do you protect him?"

"Fact: He is Warlock's self soul friend, Confusion: What more reason do I need?" Warlock asked.

Albion raised his eyebrows before narrowing them. He thought back to the reunion he had with Sven.

"YOU BASTARD!!!!"

Lazlo slammed his fist into Sven's head, almost breaking his knuckles on the mans helmet. Sven looked at Lazlo, lowering his head as he spoke.

"My memories are pretty fuzzy, I'm not quite sure how long I've been back and what I've been doing in that time…. but if I'm going to be honest I wouldn't have sought you out Lazlo" He said.

"What…but why?" Lazlo asked.

"I would have been sure that you had moved on, found your own life, maybe settled down…I wouldn't have wanted to open old wounds"

"You're my best friend Sven…you were my brother" Lazlo said as he took a seat.

"I'm sorry, you know I'm not a big thinker"

"Its okay…it tore us up when you passed, some of us were actually suggesting ways of bringing you back but we knew that's not what you wanted" Lazlo explained, wiping a tear away.

"I'm glad you respected that wish"

"I didn't" Lazlo said. "If there had been a way to bring you back Sven then I would never have stopped searching, I would have crossed into hell itself, I would have died for you"

A tear slid down Sven's helmet as he shook Lazlo's hand.

"Your right Lazlo…I would have gone to hell for you as well"

"No Sven, you'd go to hell for everyone that's why I'd be proud to call you…brother"

Albion lowered his sword, looking at Warlock with a narrow eye. He wouldn't be moved, he had to protect his friend, his brother. Lazlo flipped his sword into a reverse style grip and took a step towards them.

"How far are you willing to go for him?" He asked.

"Logically I would sacrifice myself for my self soul friend" Warlock stated.

Lazlo looked back at the New Mutants, Cannonball was grappling with Jetstream while Sunspot blocked a scythe swipe from Tarot. Dani raised her hands as Rahne jumped at her.

"Rahne its me Dani, listen to me, remember me" Dani said desperately.

"Thanks for the help Roulette" Bevaron said as he fired a blast into Sunspot's chest.

"Why can't any of you fight this control?" Karma asked, lashing out with her telepathy.

"YOU GUYS AINT GETTING PAST!!!!" Sunspot yelled, slapping Catseye aside.

"We've got your back!" Magma said, firing a blast into Bevaron.

"HIT EM HARD AND FAST Y'ALL!!" Cannonball laughed, slamming into the Hellion's, releasing an explosion of fire.

However Cannonball was sent flying out of the blast, slamming into Magik. Her sword span across the ground, coming to a halt near Albion's feet.

"Embrace your deaths!" Tarot said, creating a gigantic reaper.

"Rahne listen to me…your still in there I know it!" Dani said with tears in her eyes.

The Reaper slashed Sam across the chest, and then threw him into Sunspot. Bevaron fired a blast that singed Karma's shoulder and Beef slammed his fist into Magma's chest. Albion looked at the New Mutants, widening his eyes as they got up off the floor. Rahne slashed Dani across the cheek, but still the girl struggled, trying to reach her friend. Doug too looked on, his expression one of confusion. Then his eye took on a yellow tone as a crack ran through his face. He clutched his chest, falling to his knees.

_0Too many languages1 Aggression0 Confusion0 Determination0 Loyalty0 Fear1 Binary code scrambling1 Gothica's logic failing0 Foreign presence detected0 attempting to purge from system1_

"What…what language am I?" Doug asked, grinding his teeth together in pain.

Albion raised his head, looking back at Doug. Warlock placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to offer comfort for his friend. Sam was knocked aside by the Reaper, rolling into Dani. Wolfsbane stood on her hind legs, blood and foam dripping from her mouth.

"Rahne…it's us…remember us!" Sam said weakly.

"Your not an animal Rahne your one of us" said Dani as she got off the floor again.

Lazlo couldn't help but see Sven in each of the New Mutants, and himself in Doug.

"You don't know where you belong do you?" He asked.

Doug coughed and looked at Lazlo with wide eyes.

"Your not the only one who's ever been confused upon rising again…why have I come back? Who will take me in? Where do I belong? That's language isn't it? Culture, belonging, the way we speak determines who we are, and yet inside we can be different…but I think that the way you speak, and the feelings inside you say that you belong, that your language is your friends…look at them, do you see what language they are acting out now?" Lazlo asked.

The Reaper's skull like face shifted into Gothica's decaying expression.

"I hope you aren't trying to spoil my plans Lazlo, I already had to kill Gloria" Gothica said, grinning as Lazlo widened his eyes.

"Gloria!" Karma said, each one of the New Mutants looked to Gothica in shock.

"I don't like meddlers, so how about we get rid of useless old Doug, Rahne be a dear and tear him apart for me"

Rahne snapped and got on all fours, crawling towards Doug. Lazlo stabbed his sword into the ground and kicked Illyana's soul sword into his hands. Wolfsbane ran at Lazlo, snapping her jaw at him. He raised his hand, stopping Rahne's jaw with his left wrist. They remained locked in place, Rahne's jaw digging through Lazlo's gauntlet and skin. Looking one another in the eyes, Lazlo tapped the soul sword against his helmet, shattering it completely and revealing his face. His facial expression remained defiant for a moment before a tear fell down his cheek.

"I suppose this is it then…you both refuse to fight this corruption, or maybe you've just given up, didn't you hear your friends or maybe they didn't yell loud enough" Lazlo said.

He closed his eyes, grunting as tears fell down his face.

"RAHNE SINCLAIR!!! DON'T FORGET WHO YOU WERE!! DON'T FORGET YOUR FRIENDS!!! NEVER GIVE THEM UP!!! FIGHT IT DAMN IT!!!!!" Lazlo yelled.

Tearing his arm away from Rahne's grip, Lazlo pulled his hand back and slapped the young woman across the face.

"YOU GUYS WANT TO KNOW WHY YOU'RE BACK!! YOUR BACK FOR YOUR FRIENDS! NO ONE ELSE GETS A CHANCE LIKE THIS SO DON'T WASTE IT!! RETURN TO YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!"

Rahne fell to her knees, howling as dark energy seeped from her eyes and mouth. The Hellions took a step forward while Gothica grinded his teeth together. Albion stepped in front of Rahne with Warlock at his side.

"You wont hurt self friends!" Warlock said.

"Sorry Hellions, but your all going back" Lazlo said.

"You fool…. YOU CANT OVERCOME YOUR FEARS!!!!" Gothica screamed.

"I don't need to overcome them, alls I need is the presence of my friends to push those fears aside" Albion said as gold energy crackled from the soul blade

He swung the blade, launching a magnificent wave that consumed Gothica and the Hellions. The mixture of magic and energy created an intense explosion. Lazlo fell to his knees and smiled as the smoke cleared. There was nothing left of Gothica or the Hellions. The New Mutants gathered around Lazlo as he leant on the soul sword, seat dripping off of his hair. Dani helped Rahne limp over to Lazlo, both smiling as he nodded.

"I believe you guys still need to save someone" Lazlo said before he fell unconscious.

Magik picked up her sword while Shan and Roberto rolled Lazlo onto his back.

"I need your sword self-friend Illyana" Warlock said.

Magik hesitated for a moment before giving the sword to Warlock. He walked towards Doug, passing his own technorganic essence through the blade of the soul sword. Ramming the blade through Doug's chest, the New Mutants widened their eyes for a moment before Warlock removed it. No blood was dripping off the blade as Warlock gave it back to Magik. Doug looked up at the New Mutants with a tear in his eyes.

"What language are you?" Warlock asked.

Doug looked at his old teammates and friends and smiled as he answered the question that had been on his mind for so long.

"You all…you are my language!"

Next Chapter 8: Old ghosts

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men, I do own Brute, who will be introduced in True Heroism

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 8: Old Ghosts

Jean and Rachel sat with their legs crossed, focusing their minds to create a Telekinetic bubble around the shelter. So far they had gathered a considerable number of refugees from Gothica's attacks, at least 90 in all, but they still needed more. Most of the people they had found where women and children, a few men and elderly and even some people that looked like they would be good in a fight. Josh had been working without rest on the wounded with Xavier. Rachel opened a hole in the bubble for Driver to jump into. The Speedster ran into the shop, carrying an older man.

"I just passed Cannonball's team, they've taken down the old school Hellions and freed Rahne and Ramsey from Gothica's control" Driver explained to Xavier.

Xavier smiled; glad to hear that two of his old students were now with him again. He finished casting a boys broken arm and looked at Driver. The Young man was looking at the floor, is eyes blood shot with a look of exhaustion across his face.

"Your not telling us something aren't you?" Xavier asked.

Driver looked to Xavier and then at Jean and Rachel, both of them eying him, expecting an answer from him. He walked over to one of the beds that hadn't been occupied, leaning his hands against the soft fabric. Two tears dropped onto the pillow and quickly dried as Driver whimpered.

"Gothica…he said that he killed…Gloria is dead!" He said, falling to his knees.

Jean and Rachel both widened their eyes while Xavier kneeled down to Driver's level, placing a hand on his shoulder as he cried. In New York, the Crowner building shook as James got out of bed. Felicia Hardy was lying fast asleep in his bed, alone as James walked out of the room. He looked at his desk, where Gloria usually sat lecturing him about the lack of work he completed.

"Gloria!" He said, looking out at the city.

A single tear dropped from his face before a look of determination crossed his face. Energy surrounded his shirtless form as he placed his hands on the floors and bent his knees. With an incredible dash of speed he crashed through the window, flying away from his tower.

"She's still alive" He said.

* * *

Sieg had been ready to give up when Gothica had attacked him. But now the man was stepping backwards, clutching his sides as his hood fell off. His face was beginning to crack and his eyes were rowing a violet colour. The form of Elixir faded, revealing Kevin Ford AKA Wither. Sieg looked at the young man, his eyes twisting into a frown.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sieg asked.

"Embracing what I really am" Kevin said, taking a step back from Sieg, trying to hide his fear.

"And what is that huh?" Sieg asked.

"Isn't it obvious, I can kill with a single touch, what else am I good for other than that…Selene embraced me, she loved me" Wither said.

Sieg grinded his teeth together, rubbing his forehead as his eyes took on a red tone.

"You've killed people haven't you?" Sieg asked.

"What's the point in having a death touch if you don't use it?" Gothica asked as he cackled. "You see Sieg, this is the biggest joke of all, Wither, Blink, they're aren't under my control, nor would they have been under Selene's control… IT'S THE FUNNIEST THING IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!!!" Gothica yelled. "Don't you see Sieg, people give in to their base line desires, and they give into instinct, EVEN THE MOST INNOCENT PERSON CAN BE TWISTED INTO THE MOST CRUEL MURDERER IN A SINGLE SECOND!!!"

"I'm living proof of that" Wither said.

Sieg grinded his teeth together as he got off the grass. He squeezed his hands into fists, his entire body shaking as the anger inside him came to the surface. His eyes flared with red energy that spiralled around him.

"SIEG!!!"

Suddenly the energy disappeared as Sieg looked to his left. Running towards them was Laurie. He widened his eyes whilst Wither and Gothica grinned.

"NO LAURIE DON'T COME HERE!!!" Sieg yelled.

"I've been wanting to touch her for so long" Kevin said as he walked towards Laurie.

"LAURIE GET AWAY!!!"

Laurie stopped as she looked at Kevin, his skin and face twisting into monstrosity as he harnessed the immortal power Selene had given him. He walked closer towards her, opening his arms to embrace her. Suddenly, a refrigerator landed in between them, leaving a dent in the dirt. Gothica looked up and dropped his grin. Lorna Dane was floating before them, wearing a green dress with Onyx and Sophia floating on a metal disc beside her.

"Kevin?" Laurie and Sophia said.

"Hi girls, how about a reunion hug" Kevin said.

Polaris slammed the fridge into Kevin's chest. She broke the fridge apart, using one piece to pin Kevin to the ground and another to hit Gothica's shoulder.

"ONYX STRIKE HIM QUICKLY!!!" Sieg yelled.

"You've got it!" Onyx said, smacking Gothica across the head so hard that he was sent flying away from them.

"Sieg, oh god Sieg your face!" Laurie said, cupping Sieg's face with Sophia at her side.

The ground suddenly began to shake; Sieg immediately pushed the two girls out of the way as Guardian burst out of the ground. He sent Sieg flying into the air, landing on his back in front of Destiny. She loaded her crossbow, staring Sieg down as he got off the floor. Neither one of them was going to act any time soon, Destiny could predict Sieg's move so he wouldn't give himself away.

"Move!" Destiny said.

Sieg looked at Destiny in shock, her voice had no malice or ill content. Rather it was genuine concern. Suddenly the grass came alive, turning into snakes before Sieg's eyes. They lashed out, biting his heels as he jumped away. Rolling across the floor, Sieg swatted the snakes off him. His vision began to blur, the blood loss from Destiny's earlier shot and the venom affecting his senses.

"Come on buddy, we need to get out of here" Onyx said, throwing Sieg over his shoulder.

"Wait Onyx, what happened to Gothica?" Sieg said weakly.

"ONYX SIEG RUN!!!" Polaris yelled as Gothica slivered out of the grass.

"Oh shit!" Onyx muttered.

Gothica unleashed a series of tentacles that wrapped around the two teens, lifting them off the ground and then slamming them back down. A crack ran across Onyx's mask as he hit the ground.

"I'm a class clown, and a glutton for punishment…but not today" Onyx growled, grabbing the tentacles binding his shoulders. "Today I'm getting serious" He said as he pulled Gothica towards him.

With one punch Onyx pushed Gothica off him and Sieg, cracking his cheek to reveal his decaying bone and muscle. Gothica looked at Onyx with total fury before a second punch pushed him into Destiny.

"GOD DAMN IT BITCH IF YOU KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME!!!!" Gothica yelled at Destiny.

"LACES OUT!!!!" Onyx yelled and with one kick he sent Gothica flying into a house.

"NOW ONYX WE NEED TO GO NOW!!!!" Polaris yelled.

* * *

Aeon ran into his opponents, dodging the spears thrown by Blink and created a shield to deflect the blasts fired by Berserker. He threw his shield into Strong Guy's nose as he kicked Siryn in the neck. The young man rolled across the floor, dodging Senyaka's whip then jumping over a lion created by Pyro. He landed on his hands and span around, kicking Blink across the head, and then thrusting his legs into Berserker's chest.

"Come on its just one bloke!" Pyro said, creating a Phoenix avatar.

With a yell, Aeon ran through the flames, slamming his fist into Pyro's face. He then grabbed a brick off the ground and smacked it against Pyro's gas canister. With a backwards roll he threw Pyro towards Berserker. The resulting explosion threw Senyaka and Strong Guy off their feet. Siryn however took to the air, firing a sonic scream at Aeon. He ran across the street, creating a pole from his armour and using it to swat Blink's spears aside. She thrust her arm towards him, trying to teleport him away. But Aeon used the pole to launch himself off the ground. He split it apart to create two batons, spinning one into Siryn's neck and smacking Blink across the head with another. Then he crouched on the floor, sweeping Blink off her feet.

"_**If your under control fight it, if your not then I'd like to say what a disappointment you are Clarice Ferguson…when Jubilee told me about you it inspired me, you were a good friend to have made that risk…a hero in their eyes and mine"**_ Aeon explained.

"What are you getting at?" Blink asked.

"_**If you're not under some one's control then why are you doing this?"**_ Aeon asked.

"Don't you dare pretend that you know me" Blink growled.

Strong Guy suddenly slammed his fist into Aeon's side, throwing him into the side of a car. With a cough, Aeon got off the floor, putting a hand to his helmet as a small crack ran across it. There was always a risk that his entire body could shatter. But Aeon had confidence that this battle was one he could easily win. Berserker and Pyro were recovering from their wounds, but Pyro had no fire to create with his flamethrower destroyed. Senyaka was strong and his whip was deadly but Aeon knew if he remained close to Senyaka he wouldn't be at risk. Siryn was the most dangerous of them all, but her powers were a danger to her allies.

"Get him!" Blink said.

Strong Guy, despite being the strongest was the threat that Sven had no concerns over. Sure he was strong, but he lacked speed, Aeon effortlessly dodged his punches. He had read that Strong Guy could absorb kinetic force, so he had to avoid actually hitting him. Instead he continued to dodge strong guys punches, utilising the mans greatest weakness, his lack of sight without his glasses. Aeon shattered the glasses with a single punch to the face, then slid underneath Strong Guy's legs.

"Take him out now!" Senyaka growled.

Aeon jumped onto Strong Guy's back, wrapping his arms around his neck. He used his weight to move Strong Guy to the left as he waved his arms around, trying to push Aeon off with his shoulders. His left arm slapped Berserker across the face, twisting his neck round and knocking him into the side of a car. Aeon continued to hold onto Strong Guy's neck, moving him towards Senyaka. With one accidental slap from Strong Guy Senyaka was sent flying into Pyro. Siryn grinded her teeth together as she landed behind Strong Guy and Aeon.

She took a deep breath, preparing her sonic scream. However Aeon swung Strong Guy around, bringing him face first into the force of Siryn's sonic scream. Aeon ducked underneath Strong Guy as his body was hurled backwards. Using a shield, Aeon absorbed the force of the scream, striking Siryn across the side of the head with a staff. He then tripped her up and slammed the staff into her neck.

"_**I'm really really sorry about this!" **_He said as he slammed his foot into Siryn's face.

Looking around at his opponents, Aeon relaxed as Blink got off the floor. All of her allies were unconscious, leaving only her to face. Aeon kept his guard up, but he had no intention of fighting Blink seriously. He knew Eli Bard hadn't reanimated her, because unlike the others that had returned she still had a heartbeat.

* * *

Calvin smiled as he slipped on his blue and white X-men costume, minus the mask. Joining him were former X-men Northstar and Aurora, Thunderbird (the third man to bear the name), Lifeguard, British Agent Pete Wisdom, Captain Britain's wife Meggan and SWORD agent and X-men pet Lockjaw the dragon. The Ultimatum was on autopilot, which frustrated Wisdom to no end. Sitting beside Thunderbird, Mimic couldn't help but ponder how Gloria had managed to gather these mutants.

"I'm having a swell time in my ridiculously overpriced flat when all of a sudden this giant jet tears my roof open and the Dragon here drags me onto the ship saying there's an emergency that I can help with" Peter explained.

"Oh Mr Wisdom, Lockjaw cant talk" Meggan said.

"He bloody can!"

"What about you two, I'd heard you were part of Storm's team a while back" Mimic said, looking at Lifeguard and Thunderbird.

"After all the crap with M-day Heather and I moved to Hawaii, of course we had O.N.E officers watching us but it was still a peaceful life" Thunderbird explained.

"Still had comments about the skin though" Lifeguard said, running a hand across her golden skinned face.

"You make it work" Neal said, kissing her cheek.

"It was rather rude that I didn't get invited to the reunion, granted I wouldn't have gone anyway but still thought that counts" Northstar said.

"What's the plan then?" Mimic asked.

"We go in, save the X-men and find out whose causing this mess" Aurora said.

"How far from the target?" Neal asked.

"Just another minute" Wisdom said.

Mimic leant his head back into his seat, focusing as his body began to adapt to the mutants before him. Back at the dome, agents of the Office of National emergency examined the dome. So far several Sentinel units had been ripped to shreds when they tried to get inside. Initiative researchers like Pym and Richards were still trying to figure out how to break into the dome, so far they had tried missile bombings and bombardments from tanks and even a shot from the Armoury weapon. But still nothing could even dent the dome.

"I want everyone to be ready to deploy the package, Stark didn't leave us with much Intel" Agent Valeria Cooper said, looking at the box being carried by a ONE Sentinel.

"What exactly is in that box ma'am?" An agent asked.

"An Initiative member who claims to be the only one that can break through the dome" Val said.

"So why are we putting him in a box?"

"Extra protection, Titanium from Stark enterprises, he wouldn't let him go in without that extra layer"

"Who is it?"

"I keep forgetting the name…alls I know is that he's a power house but apparently isn't too big in the brains department, it took him hours to figure out he was immune to the effects of the dome" Val explained, "ALL RIGHT THROW HIM IN THERE!"

The Sentinel threw the box into the dome, stepping back as pieces of titanium bounced off of the dome. But whoever was inside the box managed to get inside the dome, smoke surrounding his form as he fell towards the ground. Blink stood ready with her spears, preparing to throw them at Aeon. She knew that despite her skills Aeon was a better hand-to-hand combatant.

"_**Blink, why are you doing this, please just tell me, then I'll be able to understand" **_Aeon said.

Blink looked at the ground for a moment before throwing her spears to the ground.

"I…I was ready to sacrifice myself for my friends…and yet my teacher Emma Frost…." She paused as small teardrops began to fall across her face. "She just accepted the sacrifice, she even held my friends back….I saved them but they forgot…they just forgot, and when I screamed for their help they ignored it…I gave my life for them but nothing changed, it didn't make them wiser or kinder…and Frost, don't even get me started on her…NO ONE HAS MOURNED FOR ME!! NO ONE TRIED TO SAVE ME!!!!" She screamed, the tears falling down her eyes. "WHY SHOULD I CARE ABOUT THEM WHEN THEY NEVER CARED ABOUT ME!!!!"

Aeon looked at Blink, his armour fading to a black colour as he looked down.

"_**Blink I…" **_Aeon paused as he looked up and widened his eyes as a mass of smoke fell towards him like a missile. _**"Oh no!" **_He said before the object slammed into him, creating a large crater and shaking the very ground.

Aeon grunted as he climbed out of the crater, shaking the rubble off his head. He looked up, stopping in shock as Blink stood over him. She reached towards him with her finger, touching the centre of his helmet. Suddenly, cracks ran across Aeon's armour, pink energy seeping out of them. He fell onto his back, moaning in pain as Blink wiped away her tears. Senyaka got off the floor, drawing his whip as Blink stepped away from her fallen opponent.

"Time to finish this" Senyaka said.

He raised his whip, ready to finish Aeon off. But the red eyes underneath Senyaka's turban widened as a massive fist flew towards him. Blink immediately teleported away as Senyaka was sent flying into the air, his arms flailing as he disappeared into the night. Aeon groaned as he got off the floor, they yelled in agony as a massive pair of arms wrapped around him.

"Aeon!" The Massive armoured hulking creature growled.

"_**You!"**_

"Aeon…YOUR ALIVE!!!" The man yelled, spinning around as he hugged Aeon like an old friend.

**_"Agh…Brute is that you? Put me down so I can get a better look at you"_**

The giant of a man put Aeon down, revealing his brown armoured form. He had two yellow eye lenses and small horns protruding from his head. The sides of his chest armour were yellow with yellow arm and shin guards.

"It's good to see you again Aeon, I didn't believe James when he told me you were still alive" Brute said, patting Aeon's shoulder.

"_**To be honest with you I'm not quite sure whether I'd actually died or whether I did die and got bought back…I still cant remember when exactly I came back, anyway how have you been?" **_Aeon asked, sitting on the hood of a car and rubbing his aching arms.

"The Initiative has its perks but I preferred the old days, god I never thought the world would come to this, signing a damn piece of paper for doing what's right…if only you'd been here Aeon" Brute said.

_**"Too Naïve of you Brute, I wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop this"**_

"But you still would have held us together, Kyle just completely changed, I've completely fucked up my life and Gabriel and Jason have disappeared, don't even get me started on Cade"

**_"Kyle and Cade have become disconnected haven't they?"_**

"They have, you know what Cades like, and Kyle's current attitude…that was my fault, all my fault" Brute said, lowering his head in shame.

"You did something didn't you?"

"I messed up…everything, but now I'm prepared to do something about it"

"_**Good thinking Brute…all right, time for us to go" **_Aeon said as he began to walk down the street.

"Wait, your armours barely holding together, we should stop and rest" Brute said.

**_"I don't need it!"_**

The two armoured men began their walk, but stopped as they looked ahead. Standing in their way was a woman in a black cloak and hood. Aeon held out his hand, stopping Brute from taking another step. The woman ran off into the alleyway, with Aeon following close behind her.

* * *

Scott, Alex and Gabriel walked through the graveyard, using their powers with heavy hearts. They fired blast that cut through the ground, burning the bodies of the dead. The brothers knew they would have to pay for their actions later on, but right now the recruits for Gothica's army needed to be stopped. Scott clicked the button on his visor, disintegrating the body of a father of two daughters. Alex destroyed a war veteran while Gabriel destroyed a young man who died in a fire. They continued to melt bodies with their powers, each body they destroyed made the job harder and harder to carry out.

"Oh god!" Gabriel said, clutching his mouth as me vomited.

"Don't stop Gabriel, keep going" Alex said.

"Yeah Gabe, keep killing as you always do"

"Did you say something Alex?" Gabriel asked.

"No!"

Scott blasted another body, wiping sweat off his forehead. In the bushes of a tree, Skin giggled as he recorded the images with the camera Gothica had given him. He switched it off as soon as he got the amount of video that he needed. Gabriel slowly burned another body, but widened his eyes as the body twitched. In an instant the effects of Gabriel's powers reversed and the skin of the dead man brightened. Alex and Scott widened their eyes as the dead people they had burned began rising from their graves, their bodies returning to normal.

"Oh shit" Alex said.

"QUICKLY ATTACK!!!" Scott yelled, firing a blast at a group of rising dead.

However the beam stopped just inches from the dead men's heads. Gabriel looked at his brothers, both frozen in place. The ground began to shake and Gabriel suddenly flew into the air as two rocks burst out of the ground. He widened his eyes as the rocks opened, revealing his two old teammates Sway and Petra.

"You were our leader Gabriel, you should have protected us" They said together.

"There was nothing I could do" Gabriel said.

"And yet you were on the right path, avenging us, your mother…ruling the Shiar the way it was meant to be, you've forgotten why you exist"

"You don't mean these things, Gothica's just controlling you, using you as a tool" Gabriel said.

Petra threw a rock towards Gabriel, but he flew to the side then fired two blasts at the girls. The blasts hit their flight platforms, knocking them out of the sky and onto the ground. In a jolt of pain, Sway deactivated her powers, allowing Havok and Cyclops to move. They unleashed the full fury of their powers, completely destroying the bodies of the dead walking towards them. Kid Vulcan landed on the ground, his eyes flaring as he fired blasts that cut through Petra and Sway's chests.

"You did it again son"

Gabriel swung around, gaping in horror as Corsair stood before him. The father of the three X-men walked towards Gabriel, his face turning black and setting itself ablaze.

"You killed me Gabriel, you failed as a hero, and the only thing you were ever good at was being a tyrant" Corsair said, his hand creeping towards his sword.

"Come on my love…we have a kingdom to rule" Gabriel shuddered as he felt Deathbird breath against his neck.

"No one can ever overcome their destiny" Gothica said as he rose from his sitting position.

Omega Red and Mammomax were bashing Laura around while Wolverine carried on a fierce battle with Sabretooth. They rolled through the forest, slashing one another with their claws. Sabretooth tore a chunk of flesh off Wolverine's neck. But the vicious X-man retaliated with a slash that ripped off half of Sabretooth's face. He dug his claws into Wolverine's ribs and threw him through three trees. Rolling onto his feet, Wolverine ran at Sabretooth again. They slashed one another across the face, then again across the chest. Wolverine plunged his claws through Sabretooth's belly, then rolled backwards and threw him head first into a tree.

"Just kill her already" Gothica said wearily as Laura ran towards him.

Rusty fired a cloud of flame at Laura, burning some of her skin off. But she yelled, beheading Rusty with one swing of her leg blade. Random fired a blast into X-23's back, and then Omega Red wrapped his tentacles around her. Her veins throbbed and her skin paled as Red began to drain her. Gothica smiled, watching as her life began to slip away. Suddenly, Senyaka fell from the sky, slamming into Omega Red like a rocket.

"That was incredibly lucky!" Gothica said, putting a hand to his chin. "Ah Brute has come…it doesn't matter I've got a good luck charm of my own, plus probability alteration is nothing to complete reality manipulation" Gothica said, his hand glowing with a pink vapour.

* * *

In Salem Centre, Shatterstar burst through the window of a building, slashing two dead Purifiers across their necks. He rolled across the floor, blocking a series of daggers thrown by Longshot. Rictor, Dazzler, Bling and Cipher ran to his aid, the latter turning invisible. Dazzler fired a light blast into the group of Purifier's, whilst Bling threw her shards at the undead. Rictor drew his pistol and shot a purifier in the head, then pointed the gun at Longshot.

"Back off!" He growled, going back to back with Shatterstar.

"Careful boy, your in over your head here" Longshot grinned.

"Oh my god, Lois!" Dazzler said.

"Alison!" Mortis growled.

Bling impaled two more Purifiers with her spikes, bullets bouncing off her skin as she slammed her fists into two more opponents. Shatterstar beheaded a Purifier then flipped over Rictor, landing behind Longshot. He swung his sword, but stopped as Mortis ran towards him. Jumping over Longshot again, Shatterstar kicked the blonde haired man into Mortis.

"Why are you here Lois, why are you joining Gothica?" Dazzler said, lighting up the street with her power.

"BECAUSE I HATE YOU!!!" Mortis yelled, unleashing the fury of her powers.

Her powers had no effect on her own sister of course, but the energy field drifted through Dazzler and enveloped the civilians that had been following them.

"NO!!!" Alison yelled as the civilians fell to the floor, their skin turning a pale white as they fell to the floor.

Longshot threw two daggers at Shatterstar, who easily batted them aside. He slashed at Longshot, who ducked and countered with a kick. However Shatterstar retaliated with a harder kick, knocking the man backwards. Shatterstar slashed Longshot across the wrist then slammed his fist into the mans face. Mortis tackled Dazzler to the ground, punching her across the cheek.

"Lois stop this!" Alison said.

"This wont stop until one of us dies" Mortis growled.

"Why Lois, why would you do this?"

"I already told you, because I hate you, alls dad ever talked about was how better you were than me, HE LOVED YOU MORE THAN HE EVER LOVED ME!!!!" Mortis screamed.

Suddenly a pair of blue feathers flew into the back of Mortis's kneecaps. Longshot and the Purifiers stopped fighting and looked at the rooftops. Mortis coughed, sweat running down the back of her head as she felt and itch at the back of her head. It was the feeling one would get when they were just about to die. Shatterstar, Rictor and Bling relaxed while Dazzler tensed. A man in blue bird based armour had a crossbow aimed at the back of her sisters head. His eyes released a blue glow as he spoke with utter contempt and disgust.

"I was looking for Madrox Prime, but your reason has caught my attention…AND IT'S PISSED ME OFF!!!!" Azure Eagle yelled as he pulled the trigger.

Next Chapter 9: Family

* * *

Next we see James facing his brother, a clash of ideals between the X-men and Azure Eagle, plus a battle for Vulcan's soul as Cyclops and Havok fight the demons of the third Summers brother.

Plus I thought I'd take a moment to bring up the profile of a character mentioned by Brute as he talked to Aeon:

_Gabriel Carter_

_Codename/Armour mode: The Grunt_

_Armour colour: Black with grey camo pattern on right shoulder_

_Power: Perfect stamina and strength, strength increase depending on severity of battle (however it leads to gradual loss of intelligence and possibility of brain death) complete knowledge of military weapons and human biology, Weakness: Possible mental instab__ility_

His origin and the origins of many of my OC's will be detailed in True Heroism, hope everyone enjoyed the chapter


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 9: Family

There are two families, the ones that people are born with, that share one another's blood and those who connect with one another. Friendships deepen, trusts are formed and loyalty that goes beyond peoples differences and blood. The X-men are such a family and there were times when Erik Lensherr wished to share such a strong bond with his family. A survivor, leader, terrorist/freedom fighter, father and grandfather, Magneto had lived a life filled with blood shed and mistakes. The man felt that he had done more harm than good to the world. Even with his Utopia and allies in the New Atlantis and Skrull Island he still felt that more must be done. His daughter had her children and her sanity, but his son maintained little contact with his child. He and Charles still had their friendship and yet Xavier's children didn't trust him. Hope had been restored for mutant kind and it seemed that the species would survive. But even with a new place to call home, there was still more that could be done.

"Yo Gramps, you in there?" Thomas Shepard AKA Speed asked.

He clicked his finger in front of the mans eyes. Magneto had been sitting with his legs crossed in deep meditation for days now, sitting atop a hill on Utopia, ignoring the presence of curious young mutants. Speed scratched the top of his head, not even a war zone could cut the old mans concentration. That's when he noticed it, a small trail of blood running down Magneto's nose. In a split second, Tommy ran from the hill, into his mother's house.

"Hey Mom Magneto's starting to bleed up there cant you do something to like cut his concentration" Tommy said without any pause in his speech.

"Like increasing the probability of whatever it is he's trying to reach getting here sooner?" Wanda Maximoff asked as she scooped the spaghetti she had made into two bowls.

"Well Samson said that family meals with you would be better for your health, but Uncle's helping with repairs and Billy's always with his boyfriend, I don't want Magneto risking your health for one of his schemes" Tommy explained.

"It's okay Thomas, your companies good enough, whatever your grandfathers doing I'm sure its important, now sit down and eat your food…slowly this time"

Not much news would hit Utopia of the outside world, so the people of that "country" were ignorant as to the present incident in Westchester. The darkness had thickened and nothing the Initiative did broke through. They maintained a cordon, but the fate of the town was left to the X-men inside it. Driver felt the rage of Azure Eagle as well as the arrival of Brute. He couldn't tell whether the former was a good sign or not. There was silence in the streets, as dead as the people stretching across the roads. They came to life as a young Native American man was thrown through a building.

_I am James Proudstar; one time I felt pride over the man I face today. Now I feel terror!_

James spat a blotch of blood onto the gravel, preparing himself as his opponent charged again. He took a punch to the head, which sent him sliding backwards. Then a fist slammed into his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. An axe then sliced into his shoulder. With a roar James was thrown into the side of a car, the dead gathering around him. James looked up at his attacker, his eyes trembling as he fought back his tears. The bandana was dull and his skin was dead, but this man standing before him was indeed the man whom James respected and loved the most.

_**I am John Proudstar, once an X-man now their enemy. Did my death mean anything?**_

John grabbed James by the fringe of his hair and threw him across the street. James immediately slid back onto his feet, throwing a car into the dead army running towards him. John ran through the flames, slamming his knee into his brother's chest, and then smacking his elbow against the back of his head. Then he grabbed James's foot and threw him onto the hood of a car. Knowing he had no other choice, James swung his leg at John. But John grabbed James's foot and slammed him into the ground.

"Come on little Brother, stop playing around or I'll kill you" John said.

_**Get up James! Hit me with everything you've got!**_

_Cant hold back, mustn't give into the fear_

The family reunions taking place inside Westchester weren't happy ones. Ties of blood were strong, but not strong enough in the case of Mortis and Dazzler. There had been a rift between the two of them for years. But now alls that was left was contempt and hate, at least for Mortis. Alison watched as Azure Eagle loaded his crossbow and pulled the trigger. As soon as he did that, Dazzler made her choice, firing a burst of concentrated energy that intercepted the bolt. Azure Eagle growled as Dazzler walked into his path.

"You foolish bitch, why did you do that?" He asked.

"She's my sister!" Alison said.

"She doesn't give a damn about you anymore, what kind of woman are you to just let her get away with the things she's done" Azure Eagle growled.

"What kind of sister would I be if I didn't defend her?" Alison retaliated.

"Idiots!"

Azure Eagle pulled a sword from his armour and ran at Dazzler. He didn't wish to kill her, but if she got in his way then he would. Swinging the blade towards the women, she did exactly as he predicted she would. Alison swerved to the right and Azure moved his hand to strike her. But suddenly, his hand met the flat of Shatterstar's sword. His eyes flashed for a moment before Dazzler blasted his chest, pushing him backwards.

"YOU FOOLS!!!!" Azure Eagle yelled.

"We can't let you do this" A voice said from behind him.

Cipher tried to grab Azure from behind, but the armoured man grabbed the locks of her hair and threw him over his shoulder. Then he jumped at Shatterstar, slamming his foot into his chest. With a flip he backhanded Dazzler, throwing her to the side. Rictor fired a few bullets into the mans chest armour. But his efforts were futile as Azure Eagle fired a bolt that split Rictor's pistol in half. He then kicked Rictor in the chest, throwing him onto Shatterstar.

"I've had it with this…bullshit!" Azure Eagled growled as he turned to Mortis.

"Stay away from me!" She said, lashing out with her death field.

"That wont work on me…your pathetic, trying to live up to a person you didn't even keep in touch with, look at what your idiotic sister is trying to do for you, do you even appreciate that?" Azure Eagle asked.

"I hate her, dad always talked about how proud he was of her"

"And then you kill him and try to kill her…I'm sick and tired of petty excuses for murder!" Azure Eagle said as he drew a sword from his armour.

Suddenly a volley of knives flew into Azure Eagle's back. He turned to Longshot, whose eyes flashed as he altered the probabilities around him. Pulling one of the blades out of his back, Azure Eagle then turned back to Mortis. Another blast from Dazzler suddenly struck his side, throwing him through the window of a shop. Lights began to appear around Dazzler as she prepared another blast. Rictor then rolled his eyes into the back of his head and the ground shook. Azure Eagle yelled before Dazzler fired her blast.

"Idiotic fools" Azure Eagle whispered as the building collapsed on top of him.

* * *

Gabriel Summers floated into the darkness, his eyes devoid of any hope. Alls he had was his guilt and his sorrow. It had been in another life and even with his memories of that life restored he still didn't understand. Why did he go down such a horrible road when he could have been a hero? What was his destiny? The path of a betrayer and murderer or the path of a king and conqueror? Would he be remembered as a hero or just another dangerous mutant?

"Vulcan!" A voice said rang in his ear.

He felt her breathing on him, but he knew this was just an illusion, and yet why did it have to feel so real?

"Vulcan, we're not done yet" Deathbird said, rubbing Vulcan's back.

The darkness disappeared and Vulcan widened his eyes, looking upon the thousands bound and forced to kneel beneath him. He looked to his right and quivered as Deathbird smiled at him.

"They must be made examples of my love" She said, kissing his cheek. "Kill them, kill the enemies of our glorious empire"

Vulcan looked at the scene in shock. The Shiar bound their own people and many other races. But when he saw whom else they were imprisoning it suddenly occurred to him. His father, Sway and Petra, hundreds of aliens and Shiar and some imperial guardsmen. These people were the hundreds he had killed in his former life. They looked at him, their eyes begging him to stop when he wasn't doing anything.

"Do it!" Deathbird beckoned.

In the past he had been a conqueror, a king in title yet nothing more than a murderer. He had been fully prepared to kill everyone and anyone that was in his way. The blood of his father was in his hands; the responsibility of his teammates deaths was his. He had been deaged and healed of the psychological and physical scars he had obtained. And yet he still couldn't escape the blood shed and temptation of his King Vulcan persona.

"What are you waiting for boy, do it!" A voice growled behind him.

Gabriel swung around, widening his eyes as King Vulcan stood before him. His scarred face held the anger of years of torment, while his armour showed his royal yet sinister intentions. King Vulcan's eyes flared as he grabbed Kid Vulcan's arm.

"Do it, kill them all, never stop making them pay for what they've done" King Vulcan said.

"No, they haven't done anything, why kill them?" Kid Vulcan asked.

"Because they are enemies, if I am not a hard ruler then no one will bow and that includes those who have failed me, those who are too weak to fight alongside me and those who did me wrong"

"That's it, because people are in your way?"

"Yes, that is the only reason we exist Gabriel" King Vulcan said.

"It is the only reason you exist!" Gothica said, appearing behind King Vulcan.

Gabriel pushed King Vulcan away from him, stepping back with wide eyes. Gothica and King Vulcan grinned as their eyes glowed, one with dark energy the other with the energy of a star.

* * *

Scott Summers had never suspected he had a third brother, when Sinister had hinted at it he dismissed the notion. But then he met Gabriel, but it wasn't the day Sean died that he had met him. The Scott Summers that had an affair with Emma Frost and disbanded the X-men after the mutant Messiah had been found was in fact a Skrull. Some time after Scott was freed from the influence of Apocalypse a Skrull had captured him and taken his place on Earth. Scott spent years imprisoned on a Skrull prison station, but eventually Sieg and the warrior Slayer discovered the Skrull and freed Scott. So much had changed when he had been gone, Jean had died and come back again, the Avengers had been scattered and the mutant population had been decimated. Yet the one thing that didn't change for Scott was his loyalty. There were many interpretations of family; Scott's was his team and his brothers.

"Alex, you okay?" Scott asked.

Alex coughed as he got off the floor, frowning as he looked at the black dome inside the cemetery. He had been too quit to judge his younger brother. Every time he looked at him he couldn't help but see the scarred and hateful image of King Vulcan. But now everything was different, his memories altered, deagaed to a teenager again and his scars healed young Gabriel could no longer be considered King Vulcan. And yet the mind was a complex thing. Then there was a manipulator like Gothica.

"I'm fine, we need to get Gabriel out of there" Alex said.

They looked towards the Black Dome before running over to it. A sudden surge of dark energy threw them back. The two of them got off the grass, their powers flaring as they looked at the dome glowing intensively.

"This must be what the guys outside feel" Alex said.

"Yeah, but we cant let that stop us…Alex get ready to hit that thing with everything we've got" Scott said.

"I think I understand where you're coming from!"

Both brothers nodded as they aimed their powers. Cyclops lifted up his glasses, releasing an incredible red blast. Havok's arms glowed while his chest released a white pulse. With a yell they unleashed their built up energy, covering the dome in a red and white blast.

"COME ON GABRIEL BREAK OUT OF THERE!!!" Cyclops yelled.

"FIGHT THOSE MINDS GAMES AND COME BACK TO US LITTLE BROTHER!!!" yelled Havok.

* * *

"Damn it!" James growled, picking the blade up off the floor.

He was a teenager again, grinding his teeth together as he tried to hit the target he set up. James held out the blade, aiming and then throwing it towards his target. It missed completely, sliding across the dirt.

"God damn it, what's the point of this anyway? I'm a better close range fighter" James said, kicking the dust.

A laugh drew his attention towards the tent that was being set up. His brother clapped the dust off his hands, taking a break from setting up the tent and walking to James's side.

"Being a good hand to hand fighter is all well and good brother but know that some day your not going to have the option of fighting at close range, besides in a hunt its better to fight at long range" John began, walking over to where the knife had landed.

He picked up the dagger, casually walking back to his brother. Taking James's hand, John wrapped his brother's fingers around the handle of the blade, taking a knee to his level.

"Arm out straight, look at the edge of the blade, use it as your scope" John said, adjusting his brothers position. "Keep a firm grip and a straight arm, take your time and then throw"

The knife flew into the target, narrowly missing the Bulls eye.

"It's easy to give up little brother…keep trying and you'll get it eventually, you wont even have to take your time one day" John said, continuing to set up the tent.

James looked at the blade stuck in the target and then back at his brother. He knew then that he should have thanked him, but it was only now that he realised he was too late. John threw James against the hood of a car, and with every bang on the red alloy came a memory of so many times James took his brother for granted. The first man to bare the name Thunderbird span his brother around hammer throwing him over a building.

_**I was proud to be your brother James. Wait, I'm still proud…stop it!**_

"IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT BROTHER! YOU'RE PATHETIC! YOUR NOT WORTHY OF PROUDSTAR BLOOD!!!" John yelled, jumping over the building and landing inches from James.

_**No, James that wasn't me talking…get up James!**_

_Damn it get up damn it get up, move! MOVE!!_

James rolled across the ground, dodging John's crushing punch. He kicked the undead man across the head, and then rolled onto his feet.

_**My death taught you something James…no, my death must have taught Xavier something…am I just another casualty to Xavier's dream?**_

John slammed his fist into James's chest, grabbing his neck and lifting off the ground. He slammed James onto the pavement, then dragged him across the gravel and threw him through a window.

"Come on brother where's the anger, you were always so stressed, never much discipline"

_That's not John talking, John knows I would have used his lessons well; he would have had faith in the warrior I became._

_**James you have to kill me again…damn it, what's the point of death anymore?**_

James threw a punch at John, but the main grabbed his wrist and tripped him up. He then swung him around and once again threw him over a building.

_**Our deaths, all for Xavier's worthless dream…no, its not worthless but so many people die for it!**_

* * *

Molly Hayes knew there was hardship in the world she had faced such hardships. But she wouldn't let that get her down; there was still plenty for her to do with her life. She smiled as she trotted down the street, ahead of the mansion survivors and the creepy super villains.

'Though if that guy with the tattoo loses the Mohawk he'll look even cooler than Wolverine' Molly thought with a giggle.

She stopped as she saw a small balloon floating on the street. Curiously she walked towards the balloon, tapping it with just a finger. But the force of her poke was enough to burst it. Molly suddenly sneezed, rubbing her nose and staring down the street. Her eyes widened at who she saw standing in front of her. She rubbed her eyes, widening them like balloons as she pinched her arm.

"Hello Molly"

Both were mutants and a couple that had tried to destroy the world to save themselves. The man had a mask covering his mouth while the women wore a veil across hers, her brown hair and facial features looking like an older version of Molly. They were the mutant members of the Pride, once the leading criminal organisation in Los Angeles. Gene and Alice Hayes, Molly's parents.

* * *

Not all of Westchester had been consumed by chaos. The people inside Noriko's coffee shop weren't struggling for survival; there was enough food and liquid there for the people to hold on. There was only the fear of discovery, as well as regret. Noriko sat by the window, the lights were off and David was busy providing psychological support to the civilians. She looked out at the deserted streets, trying to focus her attention on something else besides her family. Lately she'd been regretting the term of events in her life.

'The Cuckoos are mash, Laurie's back but with that Sieg guy, Julian's dead and David…god you picked the perfect things to think about Nori' Noriko thought. 'Okay, Laurie's back that's good and Sieg isn't such a bad guy, they're a cute couple…then again so were Laurie and Josh before that M-Day fiasco…so were me and David before I' Noriko shook her head, trying to think about something that wouldn't get her depressed.

Then again there wasn't a lot of things to be happy about with the whole of Westchester enshrouded in darkness and the dead rising from their graves. At least that's what Noriko heard on the radio before it was shut down. She really needed some coffee, but if she used the electricity she stored up she would alert the undead patrol that would occasionally creep by the shop.

"Are you all right Noriko?" David asked, sitting at Noriko's table.

"Yeah I'm fine, I'm just thinking that's all" Noriko said.

"What about?"

"Everything that's happened, sure some things have gotten good but the bad things happening seem to be outweighing the good"

"What bad things?"

"Julian dying, Frost leaving, all the people we've lost these past few years"

"Well some good things have happened" David said.

"Have they? These whole arrangements with the government cant last long, Iron Man cant hold onto his position forever, we still haven't figured out how Laurie came back or whether it's the lead up to something bigger, my father still wont let me talk to my brother and you…well lets just say I've fucked a lot of things up and there's probably no going back" Noriko said, rubbing her eyes.

David sighed as he touched Noriko's hand.

" Nori, during the invasion when you got hurt I realised that I've should have been using my intelligence, of course you kissed Julian in order to drive me away, because I wasn't safe at the mansion, but then you didn't realise that nowhere was safe for people like us, even when we don't have our powers mutants will still be hated and feared, until we the X-men figure out a way to stop the hate…I never hated you Nori, I want to be with you, sure it'll take time and some work but your worth the effort" David explained with a smile.

Noriko blushed as she looked into David's eyes.

"I guess I see now why you were spending so much time at the mansion" Noriko said.

"Well actually I was just there to put my talents to good use" David said sheepishly.

Noriko gripped David's hand, looking into his eyes solemnly. Their heads moved closer towards one another, their lips inches from touches. Suddenly, Warpath was thrown through the window. Surge and Prodigy looked out onto the streets and widened their eyes.

"Hello kids, sorry for the interruption" John cackled as he walked towards them.

James coughed, looking at the two young X-men as they prepared for battle.

"John" he whispered before falling into unconsciousness.

* * *

Gabriel knew above everything else in the world that he couldn't afford to let Gothica win. None of what he was seeing was real, and yet it felt so tempting. The power King Vulcan wielded, the fear of hundreds of alien races, control of an empire spanning entire galaxies, the love of a beautiful woman. No, he couldn't give into temptation.

"Your close to it Gabriel, come on, go up to Deathbird and give her a good kiss, hell kill the prisoners we've got gathered up, your own father again" Gothica cackled as his face cracked.

"No…I mustn't" Gabriel groaned.

Gothica smiled, the boy was very close to the border. He would give into temptation just like so many other heroes did. It didn't matter how much he fought, he would still fall into Gothica's darkness. Another crack ran across Gothica's face, causing him to blink as he looked to the prisoners. They were all standing up, slowly fading with a crack in field behind them.

"Oh no, no this can't be!" Gothica growled.

"Oh but it is!" Kid Vulcan said as he got off the floor. "The one thing you can't stop my brothers from doing is caring"

"Don't be so sure of that!" Gothica grinned.

The crack in the dimension began to shine and Gothica widened his eyes before flying upwards. Havok and Cyclops's blasts flew through the dome, consuming the fading illusions and slamming into Kid Vulcan's chest. He yelled, clutching his chest as his eyes began to shine.

"It…it…it doesn't hurt!" He cried in delight. "I am Gabriel Summers…I AM KID VULCAN!!!!" He yelled.

Kid Vulcan's hands and eyes glowed with the absorbed energy of his brothers. He flew at Gothica and the illusions of King Vulcan and Deathbird. With a wave of his hand he slashed the illusion of Deathbird apart. Then he fired a blast that consumed King Vulcan.

"No way, this is impossible!" Gothica panicked.

Gabriel grabbed Gothica's neck and grinned as he pulled his fist back.

"I am an X-man, and I wont be tempted by a third rate loser like you!" He said before slamming his fist into Gothica's face.

The sudden explosion of light destroyed the dome Gabriel was entrapped in. At the mansion, the Gothica clone clutched his face while the Gothica attacking Sieg threw back in pain. For a moment the dead hesitated and the illusion facing Molly Hayes disappeared. While Mortis and Longshot retreated, the latter rubbed his eyes, his tan returning as he looked to the X-men. He stopped while Mortis kept on running, never looking back.

"Alison!" Longshot said, looking at Dazzler.

"Longshot" Dazzler said, dropping her hands and looking at a man she once loved.

"Ali, I can feel him clawing at my skull…I can only hold him back for a moment, he's planning to create an army of the undead, unleash them all on the world and cause absolute chaos" Longshot explained. "There's no organisation, no plans to rule the world, its all just chaos for him" He grinded his teeth together, clutching his sides as his skin began to pale.

"Longshot keep fighting, the Professor can do something to help" Shatterstar said.

"Its too late for me, Gothica has gone insane you have to stop him…his weakness is Proteus's, Proteus has evolved, he no longer burns the bodies of his hosts but its different with Gothica, he's using MGH to increase his power, burning his own body and spirit in the process…" But Longshot stopped as his eyes began to glow a black colour.

"NO LONGSHOT STAY WITH US!!!" Dazzler screamed.

"God, Alison you're so beautiful!" Longshot whispered.

Suddenly, Azure Eagle burst out of the rubble; the armour around his left hand, right kneecap and upper right face had been removed. But the fire in his eyes was far from extinguished. Ripping off his left wing, he jumped away from the rubble.

"LONGSHOT!!!" Dazzler yelled.

"Don't worry, I'm not after him!" Azure Eagle growled.

He threw the wing, sending it flying down the street. While Longshot jumped away, the wing flew past him and struck Mortis's back. She gasped as blood shot from her mouth. The woman fell to the ground with her sister screaming, the sound gradually fading from her ears. Azure slowly walked towards Mortis, intending to finish her off.

"I won't let, people's idiocy make this world any worse" He said.

Azure Eagle looked over the body, ripping the wing out and putting it back on his back. Dazzler ran to her sister's side, her hand to her mouth as she looked at the lifeless body.

"Its done, I've done the job you wouldn't have had the courage to do until it was too late" Azure Eagle said.

"I still could have saved her!" Dazzler said, cradling her sister's body.

"No you couldn't have, they are all beyond saving…they had their chance and they chose to join Selene and Gothica willingly, Blink, Wither, your sister…they all deserve to die for choosing the path they took"

Dazzler coughed, laying her sister face up and looking to Azure Eagle with her eyes glowing.

"The question is, do you deserve to die for the path you've chosen?" Dazzler asked.

A cold breath came from Azure Eagle's helmet.

"I'm not like her…I've just adapted to the era…this isn't a heroic age anymore, maybe there never will be" Azure Eagle whispered before spreading his wings and flying away, as far away from Dazzler's tears as he could.

* * *

Surge fired a blast of electricity at John, who brushed the effects of, slamming his fist into one of the tables. The civilians around them panicked, running for the door. John turned towards them, ready to throw his axe.

**_Wait, this isn't who I am…I can feel Gothica's hold slipping!_**

He stepped back, allowing Surge to hit him with a blast.

_**This is their future…perhaps they'll become another casualty of Xavier's dream or the ones to achieve that dream!**_

David ran into the fight, throwing a jug of water at John. The water spread across his body, drenching his hair and chest.

"NOW NORI HIT HIM!!!" David yelled.

Surge yelled as she hit John with another blast, burning his hair and skin.

**_Intelligence and power…they might actually survive_**

_"I'm as good as the next guy, hell I'm better, you give me a chance and I'll prove it"_

**"**_And you will have your chance John, I promise you that. I've come to help you fulfil your dream, to give you back your pride. You are special John, you are a mutant and you are needed"_

_**He was a smooth talker, regretful but manipulative. Xavier, sometimes it was hard to trust him, but he knew what buttons to push, and that's what got me killed.**_

"_John Proudstar get off the plane before its too late!"_

"_BUT OUT BALDY I'M THROUGH TAKING ORDERS! I've been a loner all my life Xavier, an outcast dumped on by everybody I met, but I'm a man Xavier, a warrior of the apache AND TODAY I'M GONNA PROVE IT!!!"_

"_FOR GOD SAKE LADDIE GET OFF THE PLANE!!!"_

_**Wait, the X-men, Xavier, and Sean they told me to get off. They tried to get me off the plane before it blew…it was my fault, not there's…my pride and anger got me killed, Xavier's dream is one that'll get you killed, but it's a dream worth dying for!**_

John grabbed Noriko by her hair and threw her into David, sending them both flying into the wall. The Apache warrior walked towards his brother, grabbing his head and smashing it against the wall. James opened his eyes, struggling under his brother's grip.

"Listen to me James, say nothing and just listen…I can't fight for long but it'll be long enough to make a difference" John began, causing James to relax. "Gothica has no plan unlike Selene, he believes he's already achieved godhood…Proteus evolved, his powers no longer decay his hosts, but Gothica is different, he's overusing his new power and taking drugs to increase his power and the pleasure of his kills, but all those narcotics and the energy of Proteus is decaying his body, the more hope there is the weaker he will get and that will cause him to use more of Proteus's power…that is the key to defeating him brother, find someone who can restore hope and then make Gothica use Proteus's power, the overuse of this power will cause his body to decay, forcing him to separate from Proteus and leaving him vulnerable" John explained.

"John I…"

"James, tell the X-men this…use light and hope to counter the darkness and then force Gothica to separate himself from Proteus, then kill him!"

John kicked James into the wall, then ran out of the building and jumped as far as he could away from his brother.

**_I am John Proudstar, proud to have been an X-man!_**

James got up off the floor, looking at where his brother had been and nodding his head with determination. He sheathed his daggers and threw Noriko and David over his shoulder.

_I am James Proudstar, I'm not a killer…I'm an X-man!_

Next Chapter 10: The Meaning of Family

* * *

Blood relatives arent the only family when it comes to the X-men, the students of the institute reunite and the claw people have some reunions of their own

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, you can tell its leading up to something big :)


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 10: The Meaning of Family

The bonds of family didn't extend to those who were bound by blood. There was more to family that relatives and spouses. At times the bond between a group of friends could be stronger than any family. That was the case for the students of the Xavier institute, or at least it had been. Now, the many students that died after M-Day were mere servants of Gothica and Proteus. Many of the students died when the Purifier's rockets had struck the bus. Tragic deaths, yet their deaths gave Gothica the army he was looking for.

Noah looked at the path ahead of him, dead bodies spread out across the road. He looked to his side, the others with him were nervous, no matter how well the psychopaths like Daken and Juggernaut hid it. Molly and Klara were just kids, sure they had been in life and death situations and had lost friends but they hadn't faced true fear yet. They hadn't been faced with true terror like Noah had. He knew what it was like to fear your power, to fear the darkness inside your own heart. But above all else he feared the future. The baby Hope held the future of the mutant race and yet Noah couldn't help but wonder. What's the big deal about mutant survival? The world wouldn't change with or without the existence of mutants. Super powered beings like Gothica were still being born through mad experiments, cosmic events or just plain magic. The powerful were hardly dying out.

"Don't tell me we have to go through that" One of the new students said.

"A bunch of dead bodies aren't anything special" Daken said casually.

Michael watched as Daken walked down the road, taking no care in stepping on the dead bodies. He looked to the shape shifter; Mystique was a woman who had seen many horrors in her long life. Unfortunately many of them were atrocities she herself had committed. But that still didn't change the fact that she was Kurt's mother and because of her long life span in Kurt's eyes she was still capable of redemption.

"Some how I doubt this is going to be easy!" Juggernaut said.

Pixie eyed the three villains suspiciously. Nightcrawler may have been willing to leave her and the other children with them but Megan wouldn't drop her guard. She kept her soul dagger out at all times while Michael held onto the baby.

"We should be heading to wherever the X-men are" Mystique said.

Raven Darkholme had seen many things in her time. The Twenty first century was probably one of the most exciting times what with new technology, super powers and all these apocalypses and judgement days. She didn't think of herself as a bad person, she just knew that something's needed to be done. But all this death around her, this Gothica was nothing like Magneto or Apocalypse, killing for a cause. This Gothica man was clearly insane.

"Noah hold onto the girl for me, I'm going to do some reconnaissance" Michael said.

Noah smiled sheepishly as the girl groaned. She really didn't like him; maybe it was the darkness in his mind. Or maybe Noah just sucked when it came to babies. Michael took to the skies, looking at the road ahead. He could see the telekinetic barrier, another few miles and they would be there.

"Something doesn't feel right" Pixie shivered.

"Not that I care but I think we should find another route" Juggernaut said.

"Your unstoppable and I can heal what's to worry about?" Daken asked. "Besides the bodies are clearly dead, I didn't smell anything funny about them"

"You clearly haven't watched many horror flicks, the first guy to wade through a pile of dead bodies is always safest, I've got the baby so there's no way I'm going last" Noah said.

"Me neither!" Molly agreed.

"You Pixie and Klara are clear, the nice innocent girls always survive…well that's at least how it was in the oldies" Ink said.

"Let's all just walk through at the same time" Mystique growled, stepping on an elderly mans body.

Daken shook his head; he had a plan until all this chaos started. Get into the mansion, kill Wolverine and then leave it wasn't that hard. But this Gothica man was really starting to make him mad. Daken paused, his heart skipping a beat as he felt someone grip his ankle. He looked down, popping his claws out, ready to kill his attacker. But when he laid eyes upon the undead he widened them. They were the ones who raised him, as well as the countless he had killed in the past. But they were no problem for a cold man like Daken; it was the one gripping his ankle that tore into his mind like a knife. Itsu, his mother returned from the dead.

* * *

Wolverine roared, every chunk of Sabretooth's flesh reminded him of the hundreds of times they had clashed in the past. Neither could exist without hating the other, and they both hated one another with a passion. Sabretooth tore out entire trees, striking Wolverine with all his strength, sending him flying through the woods. But Wolverine quickly recovered, skidding across the grass. He released a series of grunts and growls as he climbed up one of the trees. With a road he jumped off of the tree, stabbing his claws into Sabretooth's chest.

"Don't you see runt, this game of ours never ends" Sabretooth grinned.

"It's gonna end with your head on the ground" Wolverine growled.

Both men rolled across the grass, soaking up the dirt with their backs. Sabretooth threw Wolverine out of the woods, but as Creed pounced Logan slammed his feet into the man's neck.

"Hmmm, perhaps I'm going about dealing with the claw people the wrong way" Gothica said. "We need more than a physical battle for them…oh and lets not forget the metal man that killed you last time Proteus we need to get rid of all the threats"

With a wave of his hand, Sabretooth disappeared and Logan found himself in total darkness. He looked around, his senses distorted by Gothica's manipulation of reality. Logan grunted as something slashed him across the back. He slashed at the darkness, pulling his claw back to stab the one attacking him from the front. Suddenly he felt a jolt, as if someone had landed on his claws. He looked behind him and gasped, the kind of gasp a child would use. Standing, impaled by his blade was a young, beautiful red haired woman.

"Rose!" Logan whispered.

"Great job Howlett, you've done it again, ask yourself how long it'll take you to kill another person you love?" A voice asked from behind him.

"Shut up Dog!" Logan growled at the scarred man standing behind him. "None of this is real, both of you faded away years ago" He said calmly.

"Yes but that doesn't mean it doesn't get to you son" John Howlett said before a bullet struck his forehead.

"You trying to make me cry Emo? I've faced worst mind games then this one"

"Oh no you haven't runt the mind games are just beginning" Sabretooth said as he slashed Wolverine across the face.

X-23 hadn't lived as long a life as Wolverine, but the tragic events in her life had taken her toll. She was bred to be a weapon, and that was exactly what she was being. A cold ruthless killer, one who killed her opponents again and again and again, the X-men weren't the ones that could help her to escape her fate. She stabbed Rusty, gouged out Random's eyes, impaled Omega Red, and beheaded Mammomax. But they always got back up for more, and despite her healing factor she was beginning to tire. Gothica could easily finish them, but merely killing the girl wasn't enough. He had to send messages and break his opponents so completely that even if they survived they would never be the same after the battle.

"You're a beautiful girl X-23…even with the blood" Gothica chuckled.

The young girl pushed her opponents aside, jumping at Gothica. He changed into mist, disappearing as X-23 slashed him. She growled, her ears twitching as she heard a sonic boom. Before she could turn around, a force grabbed her neck, lifting her up off the ground.

"Back off boys, let me put my girlfriend straight!"

Laura widened her eyes, looking at the one who spoke. A green aura surrounded his body as he used his telekinesis to send the girl flying away from the mansion. Gothica clapped his hands as he walked across the fields, he loved all the dramatics, and the tragedy of loved ones facing one another in battle. Hellion slammed X-23 into the ground, and then grabbed her neck.

"Look at what your doing Laura, X-force, more like idiots, I mean come on they were encouraging you to do exactly what the sick people at the facility raised you to do…killing, is that all your good for Laura, your like those soldiers who come back from a war and are hungry for more, when are you going to start craving blood shed?" Julian asked, pinning X-23 against the wall.

"Julian…please stop, fight this!" Laura said.

"Really…you don't fight what you are…come on Laura are you gonna do what "needs to be done"?"

"Julian please, don't do this, just stop please"

"I cant stop Laura…so are you going to do what needs to be done now?" Julian asked again.

* * *

The kind of dream that the X-men fight for isn't a dream that can be achieved by one generation. It was apparent from the start to Xavier that his first generation of X-men wouldn't be the last. He knew there would be casualties, but it was never easy for him. Cable looked at his surroundings, as his group got ever closer to the police station. In the wake of their final encounter with the Phoenix Cable had been deaged and cured of his technorganic virus. He looked at the younger generation of X-men, all of them visibly nervous. They were just teenagers after all, but in this day and age they needed to adapt fast.

"Oh man, I thought the walking would never end, as soon as we get to that station I'm getting myself some coffee" Deadpool said.

"I hope it burns your tongue Wilson" Domino muttered.

"Quiet both of you!" Cable said, holding out his hand, signalling the group to stop.

They did as they were told, never doubting a man like Cable, someone who had been a soldier his entire life. His eyes glowed before he threw the young X-men to the side. A blast of energy collided with the ground, creating a shockwave that threw the X-men back. Ignoring his ringing ears, Cable relied on his other senses. He felt with his telekinesis, detecting his targets. With a thrust of his hand he pushed the two black suited figures back. Quill jumped off of the roof, firing a flurry of flaming spikes at the X-men. Anole rolled to the side while Mercury curved her body, dodging the spikes. DJ switched on his music player, grinning as he created an earthquake that knocked the X-men to their feet.

"DOM HIT HIM!!!" Cable yelled.

"No problem!" Domino said, taking aim with her pistol.

Her manipulation of probabilities made her a good shooter. Domino's powers cancelled out the effects of the ground shaking as well as the wind as she fired her pistol. The bullet flew towards DJ, but stopped as it struck something metal. Dust widened her eyes as she looked at what the bullet had struck. Standing next to DJ were two of her old teammates, one of whom she had fallen in love with. Rockslide too widened his eyes as he looked at Tag and Icarus. Tag wasn't any different than he remembered, apart from the cold look. It was Icarus that bought fear to the hearts of the young X-men.

"What has he done to you Joshua?" Dust asked.

Jay Guthrie stood on the rooftops, his huge metal wings spread out and his eyes glowing a deep red colour. Gone was the beauty of his voice as he spoke.

"Kill them!" He said coldly.

"NO PROBLEM THERE!!!!" DJ cackled, firing a blast from his hands.

Cable threw his hands out, creating a telekinetic barrier. The sonic blast slammed into the barrier, causing the X-men to cover their ears. Vines began to burst out of the ground, wrapping around Loa and Anole, lifting them off the ground. A jet of water slammed into Deadpool's back, knocking him against a car.

"Ouch, that's got to hurt!" The Undead Rainboy said.

Domino, aimed her pistol, but gasped as the road beneath he came alive, wrapping itself around her. Flubber grinned as he wrapped his abnormally large hands around Domino's form, enveloping her completely. He yelled as Match threw a fireball into his back. Domino then got her hand loose and fired her pistol into Flubber's head, throwing him off with a kid.

"Brian stop, what are you doing?" Rockslide asked as Tag ran towards him.

"What I do best old buddy!" Tag grinned, tapping Rockslide's shoulder before an undead student punched Rockslide into the middle of the X-men.

The X-men scattered, running away from Rockslide. But Cable stayed, his mind too powerful for Tag's powers to work. He wrapped Trance's body in a telekinetic barrier, allowing her to use her spirit form. She fired a blast into an undead student's chest, knocking her to the ground. Cable then flung Tag and a few of the undead back, firing a few shots into the air to snap his teammates out of their daze. Mercury immediately shifted her form, her red hair disappearing as she slivered through the crowds of undead students. She grabbed Tag and threw him against the wall.

"Come on Brian, snap out of this, fight the mind control" Mercury begged.

Rockslide fired his fist into an undead student, and then threw Domino into the air. In midair she fired her pistols, hitting several students in the head. Anole broke free from Dryad's vines, yelling as Rubbermaid wrapped herself around him.

"STOP THIS NOW!!!!" Indra yelled, the armour plates covering his skin.

"Sorry, no can do!" DJ said, firing a blast underneath Indra's feet.

Indra was thrown back while Match burnt several students.

"Oh god, why is this happening?" Match asked.

Wolfcub ran through the flames, snarling as he slashed Match across the face. The burning boy yelled as he clutched his head, the wound cauterising because of the flames constantly surrounding his body. Icarus flew from his rooftop, diving towards Mercury. Rockslide jumped at Icarus, but one slash from the boy's wings cut him in two.

"Santo!" Mercury said before Icarus cut her arm with his wings.

Rockslide grinded his granite teeth together as he crawled across the floor, Tag slammed the palm of his hand into Mercury, causing her to scream in pain as her arms separated from her chest. Cable waved his hand, using his telekinesis to put the two halves of Rockslide back together. The liquefied arms of Mercury crawled away from her as her bottom half disappeared in a puddle of metal.

"Guess I'm not the useless guy now am I Cessily?" Tag asked with a grin.

Icarus looked at Mercury coldly before flying upwards. He flew over Wing as he tackled Hisako and dived towards Deadpool. Wade drew his swords swinging them at Jay. But Icarus leant his head back, barely avoiding the blade before countering with a slash to Deadpool's side. Rain Boy then fired another stream of water into Deadpool's chest, throwing him into Domino.

"Wing stop this please!" Armour said, trying to grab Wing as he flew around her.

"We wanted to be X-men Hisako but I see now, the X-men aren't who we should strive to be they're who we should strive not to be" the undead Wing said.

"Allah!" Dust whispered.

Icarus landed in front of her kneeling form, his wings twitching with the desire to cut her apart. Quill fired a spike into Cable's shoulder, throwing him against the wall of the police station. With a yell, Cable pulled the spike out of his shoulder and grabbed Quill with a telekinetic field.

"GO BACK TO HELL!!!!" Cable yelled before he tore Quill apart.

But what he didn't count on was the boys Quill's flying from his body, striking Anole's leg and impaling Deadpool to the wall.

"Agh hell!" Deadpool grunted.

"Someone get Deadpool off the wall!" Domino said.

"I've got this!" Loa said, crumbling Dryad's vines and running to Deadpool.

She crumbled the spike on Deadpool's skin, waiting for him to heal. He shoved her out of the way, slashing Dryad across her throat.

"Oh god!" Loa said.

"How many times have those words been used, seriously think of something new!" Deadpool muttered, kicking Dryad in the chest.

Jay grabbed Sooraya by her neck and flew them both into the air. Cable yelled as he fired his pistol at them, missing Jay's shoulder by inches.

"DOM HIT THEM NOW!!!!" Cable yelled, punching Flubber with his metal arm.

But Domino was too busy fighting off Wolf Cub, trying to him with her pistol. He jumped over her, running towards Trance's body.

"NO YOU DON'T!!!" Rockslide yelled, firing his fist into Wolf Cub's cheek. "All of you listen to me, if ever any of you wanted to be X-men remember damn it…remember that X-men don't kill!"

"Brian, Mark, Andrea, all of you fight Gothica, together your all stronger than him, fight him!" Mercury begged.

"We were all the next generation, come on Wing you wanted to be an X-man more than anyone, you have to fight this control" Armour said.

* * *

Outside of the dome, James was looking over the wreckage of Gloria's warehouse. He landed in the middle, lifting some of the rubble away with his energy barriers. Putting a hand to his chin he went over the evidence. No blood or guts, either the explosion disintegrated every cell in her body or she was well and truly alive some where. James crouched, looking at the remains of one of Gothica's bodies. A charred skeleton and rags, if enough of Gothica had survived the brunt of the explosion then Gloria had as well. Reaching for the phone in his pocket, he typed in the number for Sven's sisters house.

"Hello!" A boy asked on the other end.

"Ah Sladey, can you get your mother for me?" James asked.

A moment passed before Sven's younger sister answered.

"Hello James…god it feels strange calling you that, why don you just go back to using your real name?" The young woman asked.

"Look I'm in a hurry Miss Reilly, I need to know if you've got the key to Sven's old loft?" James asked.

"Yes, he left it here when he came over for Christmas, a tearful visit, Little Slade and Jason adjusted pretty well when they found out their uncle is a metal man, mother couldn't stop hugging the idiot, she kept telling him to eat right, but he doesn't even eat anymore"

James scratched his cheek, thinking about the day he and Sven had clashed over their ideals.

"_**YOU DID WHAT!!!" **__Sven yelled, slapping James across the cheek._

_James looked at Sven, his expression filled with regret._

" _I thought that if Sieg saw you moving on he would be less likely to fall into misery, he needed hope Sven"_

**_"So you lied, you had your telepaths imprint a false memory into him…look at me, this is what I am nothing will change that, the day this armour shatters is the day I die, hope isn't something you give by telling a lie"_**

_"Alls I did was make Sieg believe that you could shatter your armour, I made him think that there was a man underneath that ever changing armour…I took away his fear of his own armour, I don't know what's going to happen with him, unlike you and Cade the others like Gabriel and Lazlo were empowered with modified armour that wouldn't eventually replace their bodies"_

_"**I know that already, I was there remember? But you, you put false memories into my friend when it wasn't necessary" **_

_"But Sven it was, Sieg worships you but he's been so confused lately, about his lingering feelings for Celeste, about the path he should take in life, I showed him that his hero is capable of living a normal life" James said, dropping his shoulders in shame over the lie he told._

_"**But I cant, I wont die in a bed, it'll be in a fight…I'll never have children and the woman I loved more than anything is gone…I wont let you drag one of the only friends I have left down"**_

_"Sven, I'm your friend too" James said._

_"**Maybe, but your not the kid I knew a long time ago…I guess sometimes our friends grow up into something we don't like, see you later…James!"**_

In the conversations they had before that moment Sven would only use James's real name when addressing him. But now like so many others he threw aside who James had once been.

"Thank you Miss Reilly, I'll be over to collect the key soon…I stored something important inside Sven's loft, I have a hunch that I'll need to use it, I'll see you later" James said before he hung up the phone.

Taking another look at the wreckage, James smiled.

"Take it easy Gloria and come back to me alive"

* * *

Daken stepped away from the bodies of his adopted parents. He growled before running at them, his claws drawn. Darkness obscured his eyes as he stumbled across the road.

"Your nothing but a murderer Daken, even as an Avenger you were a murderer, you will never be better than your father" The undead said as they surrounded him.

Ink slammed his fist into the ground, throwing the zombies away from him. Noah ran with the baby in his arms, sliding to a halt as rows of the undead walked towards him. Mystique kicked at her attackers, knocking them down again and again.

"This is really scary!" Molly whimpered with Klara at her side.

A blast slammed into the army from above, burning them to a crisp. Michael landed in front of the two Runaways, firing another blast into their attackers. However the energy seeping from his hands faded and he widened his eyes.

"Oh shit!" He said.

"WATCH YOUR MOUTH!!!" Juggernaut yelled, landing in front of Michael.

He clapped his hands together, releasing a wave that threw the zombies back.

"We've got children present" Cain said before he ran into the crowd. "ALL OF YOU GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE! I'LL BUY YOU SOME TIME!!!!!" He yelled.

Daken roared as he slashed his adopted fathers head off. Again and again he slashed apart the people he had killed in the past. However to those around him he was merely slashing at thin air. Noah grinded his teeth together as the zombies backed him into a wall.

"We need to get out of here" Pixie said, beginning to chant her teleportation spell.

Klara and Molly looked at one another before nodding. Molly's eyes glowed a pink colour as she tore off a chunk of the road and threw it at the zombies. The rock flew like a discuss, cutting the zombies apart. Klara then spread her arms out and summoned multiple rose covered vines out of the ground. They wrapped themselves around the parts of zombies, lifting them off the ground.

"NOW KID MOVE!!!" Mystique yelled at Noah.

His eyes flashed before he ran towards the group. But as soon as he reached them, darkness covered his eyes. He rolled across the floor, stopping at Ink's feet.

"What the hell was that?" Ink asked, helping Noah off the floor.

"The baby where is she?" Noah asked.

"I don't know, she was in your arms a second ago and then she just disappeared" Ink said.

"No No NOOO!! We need to find her, that baby is our future!"

"We need a tracker" Mystique said.

"What do you care, you tried to kill her" Pixie said.

Noah looked at his hands, ones that had been responsible for the safety of the future of mutant kind. Out of all the people, he was the one to lose Mutant kinds hope. He fell to his knees, slamming his fist against the floor with Pixie and Ink rushing to calm him down.

* * *

Sidney Green preferred the name Onyx, which was why he was glad M-Day didn't affect him. He'd always been a skinny kid who didn't excel in sports or schoolwork. As a mutant he actually felt accepted at Xavier's. His teammates Rainboy and Flubber were good friends, helping him when he tried to fight Gambit and staying by his side when Foxx/Mystique rejected him. But then they died and Sidney had no idea how he should have reacted, whether he should have cried or just left the mansion. He just did what he always did, remained in the background, never excelling as the other survivors of M-Day became X-men.

"I know I'm cooler!" He'd say.

But he knew there if there was one thing he should never fear was his own ability to make a difference. He wasn't bright, he wasn't skilled but he was still strong and he was willing to fight for the people he knew as friends. Polaris flew her team away from Wither, his skin decaying and his canines extending as he floated towards them. Sieg was definitely out of the fight and the girls weren't the best for combat.

"Sieg" Laurie said, touching Sieg's withered cheek.

"Laurie, stay away from me, I'm poison" Sieg muttered.

"Oh shit, Miss Dane look up ahead" Sofia said.

Lorna grinded her teeth together as a group of Gothica clones phased through the dirt, giggling, as Lorna got closer towards them. The clones waved their hands releasing a pulse of dark energy that knocked the group of X-men out of the sky. Sieg rolled across the floor, coming to a halt in the middle of the clones. They fired pink blasts from their eyes, hitting Sieg's neck. He gasped for air, before falling to his knee.

"Damn, your pretty tough, Sven would be proud!" Gothica grinned as the clones raised their hands.

"SIEG!!!" Laurie yelled.

Polaris stopped a volley of bullets, and then launched them back at the undead Purifiers. A crossbow bolt flew through the air towards Polaris. She tried using her powers to stop it in its path. But the bolt pierced through her shoulder, toppling her to the ground. Destiny walked alongside Eli Bard, loading her crossbow.

"Kill them, but leave Sieg alive" Bard said.

"I'd rather just rip him apart" Wither cackled eagerly.

"Kevin what happened to you?" Laurie asked.

"I embraced what I really am" Wither grinned.

"I've felt it Gothica, what you've been trying to do, what your trying to do to X-23 and Logan" Sieg said, holding his neck as the clones walked around him.

"What I will succeed in doing Sieg, the truth is this world is that friendship, family, these bonds mean nothing…people will eat their grandmothers if they have to because that is what humanity is…cruel and selfish, people are born o follow a certain path in nature and they will inevitably follow those paths, it doesn't matter what is said and done by others, they will always end up following their true nature, take X-23 for example even now she's fighting every impulse and urge to tear Hellion apart, she gave into nature during x-Force and lets face it Cyclops and Wolverine encouraged it" Gothica explained.

"JUST SHUT UP YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!!!!" Sieg yelled, his eyes flashing red.

"COME ON SIEG GIVE IN TO NATURE!!!" Gothica yelled.

Onyx slammed his fist into Eli Bard, throwing him away from Sophia and Laurie. Destiny fired her crossbow at Laurie, but a sudden poof of smoke around Laurie and Sophia took them both away from the area. The two girls widened their eyes, appearing in the bed shop that the X-men had taken refuge in. Rogue was standing before them, her appearance similar to Nightcrawler's as she teleported back into the fight. She flung her leg at Destiny, but her adopted parent ducked underneath the kick. Destiny then grabbed Rogue's leg, throwing her to the ground.

"Irene, fight this!" Rogue said, teleporting Destiny out of the field.

Nightcrawler slammed his feet into Eli Bard, teleporting him away from the girls and into the streets. Gambit smirked as he threw five cards at Bard, throwing him back with an explosion of energy. Nightcrawler then teleported behind Eli Bard again, grabbing him and teleporting him into the middle of a fight between the X-men and a group of Purifier's. Chamber unleashed a sonic blast, throwing the Purifier's back. Colossus then ran into the Purifier's, their bullet bouncing off his armour.

"This is getting too hectic, its as if Gothica's creating soldiers from nothing" Iceman said, using a wall of ice to block the advancing armies way.

"Nightcrawler, get Magik here now, we need to evacuated some civilians" Angel said, flying with a woman in his arms.

Psylocke stabbed a Purifier in the head, while her brother threw four aside. A blast of energy knocked Brian back, slamming him into a wall. Synch's eyes glowed a red colour as he walked loser towards Psylocke.

"EVERETT!!" Monet yelled.

"Hi M, wanna give me a kiss?" Synch asked.

"Monet be careful, he's not…" But Paige's words were interrupted as Skin wrapped her arms around her neck.

"There's too many, we need back up now" Beast said desperately, punching enemies to his left and right.

He jumped from one enemy to another, barely dodging the hails of bullets fired at him. Nightcrawler teleported groups of civilians away, never caring where they were going so long as it was nowhere near the fighting. Eli Bard bit Warren's shoulder, causing him to yell out as his skin began to take on a blue tinge.

"WARREN!!!" Bobby yelled, throwing an ice spike into Bard's side.

"I'm fine Bobby, I'm holding it in" Warren grunted as his skin returned to normal.

M blocked a punch from Synch, screaming as she felt a bone crack. Tears fell down her eyes as Synch grabbed her locks and slammed her against the ground. Visions rushed through her mind of the times they had spent together, the kisses they had shared. Synch threw M against the wall, crumbling the building to pieces.

"Monet…I love you!" Synch clutched his head as he spoke.

"Everett, hold on we can do something to help, we can still save you" Monet whimpered, crawling out of the rubble.

"It's too late guys, you've got to end it, we're still fighting but Gothica's too powerful with the MGH and Kick he keeps taking and not to mention Proteus" Skin explained, loosening his grip on Paige's neck.

"Everett, Angelo, look mates your back and we can't just kill you and besides you still need to see Jubilee" Jono said.

"I want to see her, but sometimes we don't always get what we want, you've got to destroy us, destroy our bodies completely so we cant be brought back"

"We cant" Paige said.

"THEN I WILL!!!"

The group looked up, widening their eyes as Azure Eagle jumped towards them. He slashed Synch across the chest with his sword. Then he kicked Synch back, driving him away with bullets from a pistol. Throwing the empty weapon to the floor, Azure Eagle then fired his crossbow, hitting Skin in the chest. He grabbed the Hispanic dead man by his throat and threw him into the approaching Purifier army.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR X-MEN RETREAT NOW!!!!" Azure Eagle yelled.

A disc appeared over the former Generation X team members, teleporting them into the shelter. Rachel and Jean fell to their knees, hundreds of Purifier's were smacking their hands against their telekinetic fortress. The real Gothica smiled as he touched the barrier.

"**Damn it Gothica, put an end to this now, stop playing around!" **Proteus said.

"Tut tut Kevin you really need to learn the finer points of basic super villainy, a villain makes sure his heroes never get out of the fight the same as they went into it" Gothica said. "Blink, Perfection, be dears and finish off Aeon for me"

Blink huffed and puffed as she leant against the wall. While Perfection walked out to greet Brute and Aeon. Far away from them, James Proudstar did something he hadn't done in a long time he flew. With Noriko and David thrown over his shoulders he flew to the X-men's hiding place. Cyclops threw a group of Purifier's aside with his optic blast. Alex helped Gabriel walk towards the telekinetic barrier.

"God damn it, Gothica's really putting some effort in" Havok said.

Strong Guy punched Captain Britain across the face and Banshee blasted Psylocke with a sonic blast. Gothica cackled, cracking the telekinetic barrier with a single finger. At the police station, Deadpool fired his pistols, trying to push the undead students back. Trance fired her energy blasts while Indra punched them with his armoured fists. Cable helped the surviving police officers search their armouries, while Domino patched up Anole's leg.

"I don't understand, why would they attack us?" Loa asked.

"He's not bringing back the dead, he's enslaving them" Cable growled, loading a submachine gun.

"Get me back into the fight" Anole said.

"Don't bother kid, you're going to have to wait for this leg to heal" Domino said.

"We were a family once" Loa said, hiccupping with the tears.

DJ cackled, knocking Deadpool into the wall. Rubbermaid moved her arms towards Deadpool's neck. But the two students were thrown back by a blur. Driver ran Deadpool into the police station, barricading the door with every bit of furniture in the precinct.

"Wow, extreme makeover" Domino said.

"And for my next trick I'll load every single gun and form a neat line of clips" Driver grinned.

"Don't bother, already done!" Cable smirked.

Driver's eyes flashed for a moment before he rubbed his head. The same feeling ran through Lazlo, Brute's and Aeon's heads as they approached their enemies. Aeon stopped, his cracking armour turning black as he looked at Perfection. He widened his eyes as she lifted her hood, flames coming from her body.

_"**So he's using you too…I thought you got help, I guess some things never change"**_ Aeon said.

Brute cracked his knuckles, slamming his fist against the ground. The flames from Perfection's body faded and she fell to the ground. That's when Aeon realised; the flames were but an illusion.

"It's not Hellfire…it's Frost!" Brute growled.

Aeon frowned, looking down at Emma Frost as she got off the floor. Her eyes were empty, like a void. That's when it hit him again; she wasn't in control of her actions.

"DIE!" Blink yelled, throwing her javelin at Aeon.

"SVEN!!!" Brute yelled.

Brute widened his eyes as the spear shattered Aeon's chest. Sven gasped for breath, falling to his knees, she had just damaged the equivalent to his lungs. Lazlo stopped his battle with Unus and Vertigo, a look of concern stretching across his face as he felt his friend's pain. Sieg also hesitated for a moment, giving Wither a chance to grab his shoulder.

"SIEG!!!" Onyx yelled.

Sieg yelled in agony, the skin on his shoulder crumbling, revealing his muscle. His eyes flashed, pushing Wither away with his feet. Onyx stepped between Sieg and Wither, ready to defend his friend to the death if he had to. Sieg turned to the Gothica clones, energy pouring out of his hand. He formed his sword, cutting the clones with one swing.

"GAAAAGH!!!!" Gothica yelled in pain, his cheeks rumbling to reveal total darkness.

"**God damn it, why are they so hard to kill, why cant we corrupt them?" **Proteus asked.

Gothica threw his arms back, cringing in pain with wide eyes.

"Oh my god, someone's broken through the dome…no not one, but three…some kind of aircraft, oh no…it's her, she's back too" Gothica trembled in fear.

His sudden cringe of fear caused those under his control to hesitate, giving their enemies a chance to strike. Albion fired blast from his hand, breaking through Unus's barrier and crumbling his body. Azure Eagle drove his blade into Strong Guy's chest and fired a blast from the end, ripping the man apart.

"WHERE ARE YOU MADROX!!!" Azure Eagle yelled.

Jamie Madrox fell to his knees, smiling as Azure Eagle crept towards him.

"Please, stop me from hurting anyone else" Jamie said.

Azure Eagle gripped his blade, lowering his head as he raised the sword.

"With respect I grant your request" He said.

Gothica felt Madrox primes head fall to the floor and this caused him to tremble again. Wolverine snapped out of his mind game, looking at the deserted school grounds. He ran through the gate, his sense of smell gradually returning.

"I don't understand, they're just standing still, letting themselves get hurt and killed" Gothica said.

"That's one thing you never understood Gothica, you were never like the rest of us" Albion said as he swung his sword at Gothica.

But Gothica pushed Albion aside with a telekinetic push. This focus on Lazlo snapped Julian out of his mind control. He looked at Laura, smiling as he stepped back.

"Kill me Laura" he said.

X-23 sheathed her claws, wrapping her arms around Julian's neck and pressing her lips against his.

"Please Julian, I need you" X-23 said.

"You need the X-men, and they'll always be with you" Julian said with a smile.

A green energy covered X-23 as she was lifted off the ground.

"Loves really strange isn't it…its forcing me to keep you away from me" Julian chuckled. "If not for love, I'd have you right here and now" he said before throwing X-23 into the air, far away from him.

Gothica yelled in confusion, throwing Albion into Cannonball.

"The jet are those hero wannabes and the bitch is probably going after Aeon…but whose the third?" Gothica wondered as he walked towards the fading telekinetic barrier.

Bonds of friendship and family led the undead away from their targets at least temporarily. The dead students ran as far away as they could from the police station, thinking of times before their childhood's end. A look of determination crossed Calvin Rankin's face as jumped out of the jet, temporarily copying Lifeguard's powers.

"I don't understand why they work so hard for one another, they're just a super hero team" Gothica growled, moving his hand towards the barrier.

Suddenly, the barrier shone with an incredible light that forced Gothica back. Rachel and Jean widened their eyes, feeling the immense power of their saviour. Azure Eagle and Albion looked up at the sky with a smile while Gothica grinded his teeth together.

"You don't understand Gothica…the X-men at the best of times are something you'll never have, their bond extends to more than friendship and blood…the X-men united are everything a family should be!"

His brown hair was much shorter than the X-men could remember, but he still had the white streak. The glow from his eyes bought light to Westchester and the X-men were faced with a feeling of hope the mutant baby had never given them. His black coat waved around as his bare feet touched ground, standing between Gothica and his pray. The Tattoo of an X on his chest made it clear who he was, he was an X-man, the X-man Nate Grey.

"Hope your ready for an ass kicking Gothica" Lazlo grinned.

Next Chapter 11: Darkness in us all

* * *

The battle is far from over, Mystique, Noah, Juggernaut and Klara and Molly must rescue Hope while X-23 and Daken fight to overcome their up bringings. Sieg is faced with another event that will inevitably unleash his corrupt form

_"I am a soldier, I live for battle...but only evil bastards pray for it!" The Grunt_

_"Dont you see Aeon, your perfect, your everything I would need" Hellfire_

_Alexis Princeton_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Hellfire_

_Armour colour: Dark Red wth gold circle round chest and eyes_

_Power: Creation and control of flames, immunity to fire, flight and energy blasts, Weakness: Possible mental instability, high levels of water, weak without exposure to sunlight_


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men, I do own Hellfire and Virgil

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 11: Darkness in us all

Noah gasped as he fell out of his bed, rolling across the floor with his gauntlets glowing. He walked to his door, widening his eyes as he heard an explosion. In a sudden flash of light, Noah ran from his bedroom, through the deserted corridors of the mansion and into the school grounds. He ran through trees faster than the eye could see. There was a sonic boom and the X-man Cannonball flew over him, followed by two Sentinels. The light disappeared and Noah found himself in the middle of the flaming wreck that had once been the school bus.

"Oh my god!" He gasped.

"What are you doing here?" Bishop asked, stepping over a wrecked chair.

"Reuben, Winston, Becky!" Noah said, looking at the dead bodies of three of his friends. "NANCY!!!" He screamed, running to the side of a dying red haired girl.

Blood had stained her freckles while her green eyes were starting to fade.

"Nancy…ELIXIR COME HERE!!!!" Noah yelled.

"Damn it, why didn't we bring any of the O.N.E staff?" Bishop asked.

"Noah…oh god, I wish I could have flown just one more time" Nancy said weakly.

"No…please hold on!"

But the light left Nancy's eyes before Noah placed a hand on her cheek. The tears fell down his eyes as he walked through the flames. He came upon one of his other friends, Virgil, his black haired, blonde streaked squad mate. Without his powers he could not achieve his dream as he lay dying with a pipe through his chest.

"JOSH WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!!!!" Noah yelled, his eyes giving off a deep black hue as he fell to his knees in front of Virgil.

"Damn it…it wasn't supposed to be like this" Virgil strained, coughing out a few blotches of blood. "We were supposed to become…X-men" he said weakly.

"Virgil hold on, medics should be on their way" Noah said.

"NO!!!" Virgil yelled, "I want them to hear this…FROST! SUMMERS!! YOU BOTH LISTEN TO THIS!!!!" Virgil screamed.

"Oh shit!" Hellion said, flying over to Virgil, holding a burn mark on his cheek.

Shadowcat, Colossus and Wolverine also joined the fold, watching the last students final moments.

"Everything that has happened is your fault…everything that will happen is your fault, because you aren't thinking of doing what needs to be done…I'm not going to be the last mark my words more of you will die because of the mistakes of Frost and Summers…we should have trusted the Office of National Emergency, used their Sentinel's…and now because of that we are all gone…our childhood's ended because of them" Virgil coughed again.

"Virgil please, just be quiet save your strength" Kitty begged.

"Shut up! All of you shut up, you haven't spoken up about the faults in their plans so your all just as guilty…Frost is arrogant, she believed that we were the future but now I see, I see it now…we're just there…even before this day of loss we were just there, we weren't dominant we were just there" He repeated weakly, his head slowly nodding back and forth.

"GET US A MEDIC!!!" Wolverine yelled.

"I could have been so much more…. SO MUCH MORE THAN THIS!! But remember these words, all of you remember…this isn't the end for me…I will come back, my dream wont end here…"

He closed his eyes, dropping his head and loosening his fingers on the pipe. Now in the present, Noah sat against the wall, staring at his hands. In those hands had been the hope of all mutant kind. When the X-men had made all the fuss about the baby, Noah didn't really care. At the time he didn't care about the X-men dying trying to save a single child, he didn't care about the betrayal of Bishop or the fact that mutants were going extinct. His friends were dead, that was all that mattered to him. Then he was faced with the possibility of losing more friends.

"Nori, what the hell are you doing?" Noah asked the team of New X-men as they gathered in the common room, all dressed in their uniforms.

"We're going after the Purifier's, getting the baby back and avenging our friends deaths" Noriko said, adjusting her gauntlets.

Noah looked at the other X-men gathered for the moment. He expected X-23 and Hellion to go of course, Rockslide and Mercury would follow like the dogs they were but Armour was a surprise and so was Anole and Pixie.

"Why?" Noah said, looking at the people he had once called friends.

"That baby is the first mutant to be born after M-day, it is a target of many factions and must be saved so that mutant kind can go on" X-23 explained.

Grinding his teeth together, Noah's shadow twitched for a moment.

"So what if it dies!" He growled.

Noriko stepped back, looking at Noah in shock.

"Dude, if we help it survive then mutant kind survives" Julian said.

"Mutant kind, what impact do we have on society other than giving people something to hate…and what happens when we do save the baby…force it to breed when it grows up…appoint it "leader of the next step of evolution"…and your petty vengeance don't make me laugh" Noah explained, his eyes widening as he spoke, a insane smile spreading across his face. "You got mad at Xavier earlier, you think he's to blame but he wasn't even here to do anything about it…a man with a rocket launcher and the stupidity and arrogance of our two headmasters killed our friends, and your going to throw your lives away rushing into the unknown…well go on…get going…. KILL YOURSELVES FOR ALL I CARE YOUR ALL IDIOTS!!!" Noah yelled before he ran out of the room.

In a flash of light, Noah packed his bags, rushed out of the gate and left the mansion behind. Emma Frost and Cyclops were too focused on the search for the "mutant messiah" to be concerned about the safety of any of their students and X-men, or that's at least what Noah thought. It would only be later that Noah would discover that the Cyclops that had been running the school was in fact a Skrull, deliberately seeking to sabotage the X-men from within.

* * *

Molly and Klara looked at the boy sitting against the wall. He stared at his hands, grinding his teeth together. Getting up off the floor, Noah squeezed his hands into fists. Turning to look at the survivors of the mansion attack, Noah's shadow shifted, standing with Noah back to back.

"So…have you reached a decision yet?" The shadow asked.

"I have…we're going to find that kid, feel her presence in the shadows" Noah said.

"Who's he talking to?" Klara asked Molly.

None could see it; none knew whether it was a split personality or an actual person. But Noah knew right now that the shadow could help him. He closed his eyes, reaching out to every corner of the darkness. There weren't any shadows, but there was much darkness that he could use to feel where the baby was.

"I've found her" The Shadow said.

"Good…Pixie, take the little ones and go to the X-men's shelter" Noah said, pulling out several tubes connected to his gauntlets.

"Noah what are you doing?" Pixie asked.

"I'm going to find the baby, bring her back, but I can't do that alone"

"We'll help!" Mystique said with Juggernaut.

"I'm out of energy so I'm useless" Michael said.

"And I cant leave Megan alone to fend for herself" Ink said.

Noah nodded, looking to Molly and Klara with a smile.

"Do you two want to be heroes today?" He asked.

The two girls smiled, running to his side. Mystique and Juggernaut walked to Noah's side as he pulled out another tube. His gauntlets gave off a strong glow that lit up the street. Closing his eyes, Noah focused his energy around the bodies of the Juggernaut, Mystique and the two Runaways.

"I'm not getting stuck with the little kids again" Juggernaut grunted.

"The child must survive if mutant kind is to survive, so our goals go hand in hand" Mystique explained.

"Don't kid me, I don't give a shit about whether mutants survive…" Noah paused as he spoke.

So many were willing to die for the little girl but where any of them doing it for the right reason? Her very presence bought hope and fear to many but one. Noah's eyes began to glow with a yellow light as he took the group to the location of Hope in an instant. They gasped for breath as they appeared in the mansion subbasement; the danger Room's only source of light was a lamp up above, illuminating the room like moonlight. Noah stood over the recovering team, the light leaving his eyes as darkness obscured his pupils.

"I just can't let a baby girl get killed for reasons so trivial" He said with determination.

A smile crossed the face of the one holding the baby, standing atop a raised platform. His eyes gave off a faint blue glow for just a moment as he hung her by the collar of her shirt onto a dagger stabbed into the wall. Klara and Molly looked up at the man while Mystique loaded her pistol. Noah looked upon an old friend not with pity or sorrow, but with the determination to defeat him. The young man facing the Runaways and former X-men moved his hands to the swords strapped to his waist. Two other swords were strapped to his back and thighs. He wore a sleeveless jacket over his black shirt, black gloves with black boots and trousers

"Hello Noah…I see you've come for the worthless girl" The young man said.

"Yeah, you don't look much different, still pale, still got stupid blonde streaks…Virgil" Noah growled.

"I see, so Noah doesn't wish to face me…an understandable weakness" Virgil said. "Then again if he unleashes a blast in here there's a risk he could kill mutant kinds "survival"" He said with contempt in his voice.

"Didn't you hear what Noah said before Virgil, survival has nothing to do with this battle…just the preservation of a human life, not because she could be mutant kinds future but because she is human and exists" Noah explained, causing the people alongside him to blink in confusion.

Then they saw the dark material covering his entire body, sharpening his fingers into claws and obscuring his eyes and mouth. His hair waved around like snakes as his eyes gave off a dim crimson light. Molly and Klara looked at one another and nodded before Juggernaut stepped forward.

"Look I don't know what's going on around here but what I do know is, emo guy with lots of swords here thinks he can keep us from the baby, and lets face that plan has lots of faults…you know why kids?" He asked.

"Cause you're the Juggernaut" Molly and Klara sighed.

"THAT'S RIGHT I'M THE JUGGERNAUT BITCHES!!!!" Cain yelled before he ran at Virgil.

Noah crawled on all fours, running ahead of Juggernaut. Virgil jumped off the platform, rolling underneath Noah as he punched. Slamming his feet into the ground, Virgil flipped over Juggernaut, landing smoothly behind him. Cain stumbled, falling to the floor and sliding into the wall. Virgil drew his waist swords, deflecting a hail of bullets fired by Mystique. In shock, the shape shifter altered her form, growing a set of blue claws and sharpening her teeth. She jumped at Virgil, who flipped, blocking Mystique's swipe and kicking her across the cheek. As Virgil landed, the Shadow ran at Virgil, aiming a kick at his arm.

"Not good enough!" Virgil said, ducking and slicing off Noah's foot.

The Shadow creature rolled across the floor, cringing for a moment before its foot grew back. Juggernaut growled as he got off the floor. This seemingly powerless individual just decked the best fighters amongst the group with just a set of swords and some acrobatics.

"This is a job for Princess Powerful!" Molly said with glowing pink eyes.

Virgil swung around, bracing himself for Molly's left hook. But at the last minute he jumped to the left. Molly swung around, aiming a right punch for Virgil's chest. This time he jumped over her, slamming his heel in the back of her shoulder. Virgil looked at the girl curiously as she rubbed her shoulder.

'Super Strength' he thought. 'And what of the other girl?' he wondered, looking to Klara.

Just as he was about to strike however, a pair of vines burst out of the ground. Virgil widened his eyes as more vines sprouted, wrapping themselves around his arms and legs. Klara hesitantly smiled as she lifted him above the ground. He was caught in a trap, the battle was as good as won.

* * *

X-23 limped across the floor, clicking her bones back into place. A tear fell down her face thinking of Julian and what had transpired. Was it still possible to save him? Or was she doomed to be left alone again. Looking at the path ahead of her, she growled as Purifiers began to block her path. She popped out her claws and ran into the soldiers, slicing them apart. Bullets flew past her head as she flipped in midair, her foot claws slicing off the barrels of the guns. She stabbed her claws through the skulls of two Purifiers, and then beheaded two more with a kick. X-23 continued to kill anyone who got in her way, ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach.

"Your still killing Laura!" A voice said from behind her.

She span around but stopped her claws inches from her targets eyes. Standing just inches from her claws was the woman Laura had killed in her triggered rage. Sarah Kinney had been bought back from the grave.

* * *

One of the times Daken actually felt at peace was the day he had seen what his mother had looked like. Strangely it was one of the few times he had actually listened to his father. He remembered the image of that woman walking in the fields, but now this blood soaked woman clutching his arm, along with all the other people he had killed, replaced that image. They were all looking at him, judging who he was. With a roar he slashed them back, cutting off their chests.

"Your nothing but a murderer Daken, childish, insane, nothing like your father" Itsu said.

Daken growled, swinging his claws at the ghostly image of his mother. But the claws merely passed through her.

"You've done nothing heroic, nothing heroic at all" She said with venom in her voice.

"I did the job that no one else was prepared to do…I was getting my hands dirty!" Daken growled.

"You were trying to piss off your father" Itsu said.

"Well that was a benefit…but it was all to get close to Osborn" Daken whispered. "When he dropped his guard, when he was left completely vulnerable I would have stabbed him straight in the back"

Itsu and the other ghosts merely laughed, giving Daken a look of confusion.

"Really, then why didn't you do it when he had been exposed?" They asked. "When he had his armour off during his little meeting sessions, when his back was turned to yours in combat…so many chances and you didn't take them Daken…why?" They asked.

Daken looked at his claws for a moment, grinding his teeth together in frustration. What right did they have to judge him like that?

* * *

Sieg cut apart a Gothica clone, the dark matter staining his blade. Onyx tore a bit of dirt off the ground, throwing at Wither. The force of the throw knocked him back, sending him rolling across the floor. Polaris lashed out at the zombies attacking her, frying their brains with a magnetic wave. Sophia, Laurie and Jubilee utilised their martial arts training, tripping up their attackers and running away. Sieg stabbed a Purifier in the chest, his eyes glowing red as he looked towards Wither.

"Ford stop this now, look at all of this, it isn't necessary" Sieg said.

"Necessary, do you really think I do this because it's necessary?" Wither asked.

"Kevin stop this please" Sophia said.

"You don't get it, neither of you get it…I have a death touch so why don't I use it? Selene cared for me, she called me her king and when she achieve godhood she would have spared me"

"Your wrong Ford, Selene throws everything that isn't of value to her aside, there isn't a loving bone in that woman's body" Polaris said.

Kevin's skin returned to normal as he looked at Laurie and Sophia. They had both been kind to him, but kindness wasn't enough. Sophia had left the mansion and Laurie had been afraid of him. There was nothing they could do to stop him and Onyx certainly wasn't a threat to him. It was Sieg that was the real concern, but alls Wither had to do was give him a few pushes and his mission would be complete.

"She was the only one who understood me, the only one who loved me" Wither whispered.

Sieg stabbed his blade into the ground, taking a few steps towards Wither. They looked one another in the eyes, neither one backing down.

"Your wrong…Laurie cared about you Kevin, she and your friends still care, you were a student of the Xavier institute once and they'll take you back, they can help you Kevin…Selene would have killed you when she got everything she wanted, she never loved you any kiss or moment you shared was empty don't you see that Kevin, please come with us and we can help you, we can get rid of that technarch virus inside you and the magic Selene used on you, then I can purge your body of any dark matter Gothica infected you with" Sieg explained, the glow in his eyes fading.

Kevin looked at his hands, ones stained with so much blood.

"She still touched me…Gothica said that he could bring her back" Kevin said silently.

"He was lying, he only does things to benefit himself"

"Would they take me back?" He asked.

"Yes Kevin, they would…Santo, Sooraya and Cessily are still alive, they care about you, Cessily can touch you, you know she really liked you" Sieg said with a smile.

Kevin looked at Sieg in shock, and then smiled as he considered the possibility that lay before him.

"Someone who loves me without killing, would they really take me back?" Kevin asked.

"You have my word that they would give you the help that you need" Sieg said.

Kevin's smile twisted into a sadistic grin before his skin cracked and he took on the vampiric form Selene had given him. He rushed forward, slamming the palm of his hand into Sieg's chest. The girls screamed as the skin of Sieg's chest withered and crumbled, revealing his pumping heart. He fell to the ground, his eyes rolling as he went into shock.

"SIEG!!" Polaris yelled.

Wither laughed, standing over Sieg as he coughed out blood.

"PATHETIC! YOU'RE ALL PATHETIC! SOORAYA IS NOTHING TO ME! SANTO IS NOTHING TO ME! CESSILY IS NOTHING TO ME!!! I'M GOING TO KILL EVERYONE REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THEY CARE FOR ME OR NOT! THIS IS WHO I AM X-MEN A KILLER A BLACK KING!! AND WHEN GOTHICA GIVES SELENE BACK TO ME WE WILL RISE TO BECOME GODS OVER EVERY PATHETIC BEING IN THIS WORLD!!!!" Wither laughed, the dark matter that Gothica had given him rising from his cracking skin.

Onyx let out a growl as Wither raised his hand to finish Sieg off. He broke off into a run, leaping towards Wither. But Wither turned around, grinning as Onyx's hide made contact with his hand. The girls and Sieg widened their eyes as Onyx crumbled to pieces, the remains of the rock turning to dust as the metallic helmet that had been his face landed in front of Sieg's eyes.

"No!" He whispered.

Wither continued to laugh as he approached Sophia and Laurie. Sieg moved his hands towards Onyx's helmet, tracing a finger down the middle of it. Julian, Celeste and now Sidney Green, he had failed them. Who was next?

* * *

X-23 stared at her mother, the memory of her death still fresh in her mind. She had named her, told her she had a family and given her the kind of unconditional love a mother would. Now she was just a servant of Gothica, an enemy in her way, no different from the Purifiers. Then why did she hesitate?

"Oh Laura, I hoped you could overcome what the facility did to you, but now I see…I should have just left you be, you should have remained as the facilities weapon, its no different from being the X-men's weapon, you killed a target for the facility and then you kill a target for the X-men, I mean they don't even think 'maybe we should give her something better' but no they just use you for what you were created for" Sarah Kinney explained.

She ran her fingers along the edged of X-23's claws, smiling as the girl stepped back.

"Give into what you are Laura, become the murderer you were meant to be" The woman whispered into her daughters ears.

They whispered in their children's ears, urging them to become what others thought they were meant to be. Daken continued to hack at his opponents while X-23 remaining still. A tear fell down her face as her mother pressed her claws against her chest.

"I'm sorry mother!" Laura said.

Daken yelled, splitting the ghosts in half, but they still continued to torment him. They called him murderer, bastard dog, villain. X-23 continued to cry whilst her mother smiled, patting the back of her head.

"It's okay girl, just let go" said Sarah Kinney.

"Yes mother, I'll let go…after I've destroyed the facility" X-23 said.

"Yes, kill them all, the workers, the guards, the director everyone"

"After that I will never kill needlessly again" X-23 said.

"What?"

Laura Kinney slid her claws back into her hands and embraced her mother in a hug. Confused, Sarah Kinney stared at her daughter as she wiped her eyes. But that confusion faded as the real Sarah Kinney came to the surface. She smiled for her daughter, returning the hug before letting her go. Daken huffed and puffed as the ghosts passed through him. They had no right to judge him, they were all dead, and nothing they said mattered anymore. This was all an illusion, something created to make him doubt himself. He would continue to act as he planned. Retracting his claws and closing his eyes, the images of those he had killed faded and the pain he had felt disappeared.

* * *

Klara lifted Virgil off the ground, the thorns of the rose vines digging into his wrists. The Shadow looked up at Noah's old friend, widening its eyes as Virgil's skin cracked, showing the energy of the technarch virus. Juggernaut smirked while Mystique climbed up to platform. She held the baby in her arms, rocking her round to calm her cries. Virgil looked at the baby, and then released a blood-curdling scream. Klara stepped back, the vines binding her target squirming. He swung his sword round, slicing the vines to ribbons. Landing in front of Klara, he slashed her shoulder.

"YOU BASTARD!!!" Cain yelled, charging towards the swordsman.

But the Juggernaut stopped in his tracks, his hands shaking as he saw Sammy standing at the doorway. Virgil span around, stopping his sword at Cain's left eye.

"If any of you move an inch forward I will stab this blade into Marko's brain" Virgil said.

"You really haven't read much about me have you?" Mystique asked, taking a step forward.

Suddenly, Juggernaut grabbed Virgil's hand. With one squeeze he crushed the boys hand then punched him straight through the wall.

"Okay we've got the baby can we get the hell out of here?" Juggernaut asked.

"You're not leaving yet" Sammy growled.

The Shadow pounced on Sammy, grabbing his legs and throwing him across the danger room. Mystique jumped off of the platform and ran for the door with Klara and Molly beside her. They stopped, looking to their left in horror. Walking and crawling down the corridor were the dead students that had been depowered.

"We really need a way out" Klara pointed out.

Noah ran out of the danger room, the shadow form disappearing as he ran in front of Mystique.

"Juggernaut we'll need someone to throw us out of here" Noah said, blasting the zombies back.

"Well where's our way out?" Juggernaut asked, walking away from Sammy's body.

"COMING RIGHT UP!!!" Noah yelled, firing a blast that cut a hole straight through the roof.

Juggernaut grabbed Mystique and the two girls and jumped straight up through the hole. They landed on the grass in the middle of an army of the undead. Grinding his teeth together, Cain Marko released a yell as he ran straight through the crowd, each person bouncing off his armour as he drove into them like a truck. Changing into his shadow form, Noah ran up the hole he had created, and then ran down the clear path that Juggernaut had made for him.

"Sorry Noah but you cant save your friend…even if you cure him of the technarch virus he's one of probably many people that want to stay dead…the world that the older generation has created for us isn't worth living in" The Shadow explained before jumping on Juggernaut's back.

Noah returned to normal, a small tear falling down his face as he silently said goodbye to his old friend. Virgil walked out of the mansion, the technarch virus repairing his body and empowering his eyes. He and many of the other people bought back by Gothica twitched as they felt the X-man strike their master. Gothica yelled, the power of X-man's plasma blast burning his body and mind. He stepped back and grinded his teeth together as the X-men gathered around their returned ally.

"This isn't over…it's far from over" Gothica growled.

X-man gathered the energy for another blast, but stopped midway as he felt an incredible burst of rage. Gothica smiled while the telepathic X-men widened their eyes. The power of the dome may have been fading but Gothica had still achieved his objective. A roar echoed through the air, shaking the very ground. Wither looked towards Sieg, standing before him with Onyx's helmet in his hand.

"You…deserve… ATHOUSAND DEATHS!!!!" Sieg yelled, his voice releasing a shockwave that threw Wither, Laurie, Sophia and Polaris back.

His skin regenerated as the black armour began to cover his body. Wither's own body returned to normal with every step the corrupt version of Sieg took towards him. Sieg grabbed Wither, his clawed armoured fingers digging into the young mans neck. Wither quivered in absolute fear as Sieg's eyes glowed a fierce colour, his crimson red hair covered much of his face, but left his glowing eyes and fierce fanged teeth exposed.

"SIEG PLEASE STOP!!!" Laurie yelled, trying to use her pheromones to calm the raging hero.

He sniffed the pheromones, and then grunted as he lifted Wither over his head, holding his leg and neck firmly. A look of pure terror crossed Kevin's face as Sieg began to pull.

"Oh god!" The Telepaths whispered.

Everyone heard Kevin's scream of agony and much later trembled as they heard Sieg roar. He swept his hair aside, his bloodstained face swinging around, searching for his next pray as the armour covered his face. Sven, despite the pain he was in felt the rage emanating from Sieg. He tried to get up off the floor, but was too caught up in the pain he was feeling.

"Aeon did you feel that?" Brute asked.

"That massive blood lust, it'll consume all of Westchester, too bad I'll be far away from it all" Blink said. "Now I think it's time I finished you both off"

She readied a spear to kill both her targets. He had tried to help her, but she knew that there was no going back for her. But before she could throw the spear, a blast of energy slammed into her chest. Blink and Brute looked up, both widening their eyes at what they saw. Her blonde hair was hanging out of the back of her helmet, which had two horns pointing outwards at the back with yellow eye lenses that left her eyes visible. The armour around her body was a dark red colour and not as thick as her male counterparts. It clung to her attractive form, one comparable to Emma Frost and other female super humans. Her lips were exposed, a lustful smile spreading across her face as she looked down at the wounded Aeon.

"Oh my god, I though James said she wasn't around anymore" Brute said.

"_**Don't leave me guessing Brute who is it?"**_ Aeon asked.

"Sorry but if there's anyone whose going to fuck Aeon up its me" The armoured woman said.

Aeon widened his eyes; sweat drops running down the sides of his armour.

'Why oh why did it have to be her?' He thought.

"Hellfire!" Brute said in amazement, staring at the young woman's fiery wings.

"Time for the welcome back kiss Aeon" Hellfire giggled as she put a hand to her mouth and kissed it.

When she moved the hand away from her lips, a cloud of fire flew from her fingers and consumed Aeon. Blink looked at the scene in confusion while Brute dropped to his knees, staring at the pillar of fire that Hellfire had trapped Aeon inside. He put his hands to his eyes and screamed out for their lost hope.

"AEON!!!"

Next Chapter 12: A way through the dark

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time we'll have the battle between Sieg and X-man.

Plus I present another OC profile to be introduced in True Heroism.

_"If your fast then you get something done quicker and have time for other things so if you think about it speed is everything"_

_Jack Sanders_

_Codename/Armour mode: Warp_

_Armour colour: Silver_

_Power: Super speed, increased metabolism, Weakness: Overconfidence, rick of injuring leg muscles when moving at warp speed, can not utilise super speed without armour, hyperactice behaviour_


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 12: A way through the dark

Hellfire smiled as she hovered over the flaming pillar she had created. Blink looked at it in confusion, not knowing what to make of it. The resurrected Senyaka and Random however just decided to ignore the woman's insanity, instead turning their attention to Brute. They prepared their weapons, ready to attack the distraught man. Hellfire leant her head back on her hands, winking at Blink as the two men ran forward. Blink looked to the pillar, widening her eyes as two red lights shined inside the fire.

"SENYAKA RANDOM TO YOUR LEFT!!!!" Blink yelled.

A blue beam of light slammed into Senyaka's chest, throwing him back into a building. Random aimed his blaster at the pillar as the fires cleared. He widened his eyes, staring at Aeon. His armour, shining like a sun from the intense heat had been fully repaired; even the parts that had fallen off in the fighting were as good as new. The armour cooled, leaving Aeon's armour right as he looked at his gathering opponents with a pair of glowing red eyes and a shining blue arm. Brute got up off the floor, slapping his forehead as he remembered; when he and the other armoured individuals were created Hellfire was also the one who repaired their armour. Aeon looked at his opponents, Banshee, Siryn, Senyaka, Random and Pyro.

'Oh my god, Aeon's just as cool and heroic looking than ever, I cant believe how tall he's gotten' Hellfire thought, wanting to squeal as Aeon took a step forward.

"_**All of you run, stay out of my way, and those who can still fight the darkness…please help me!" **_Aeon said, extending his hand to the undead.

Hellfire put her hand to her cheeks, he was older, stronger but still the kind man she had fallen in love with. The undead hesitated, looking at the mans hand, the former X-men in particular were conflicted. But the hesitation was only for a moment, before they ran forward. Siryn and Banshee unleashed their sonic screams. But Aeon threw his left hand forward, his armour turning gold and red as a round blue shield insulated the sound waves. He then threw his hand upwards, releasing a blade of energy that split the group down the middle. Senyaka moved to Aeon's right, but the armoured man unleashed red beams from his eyes, hitting the former acolyte in the head.

"BURN SUCKER" Pyro yelled, creating a flaming Phoenix.

With a wave of her hand, Hellfire threw the flames aside. Pyro squeaked as Aeon launched a blue bullet from his hand, smacking Pyro's chest and throwing him into Random. He then launched a ball of dark energy from his hand. The ball floated in front of the two men's eyes before electricity sparked around it. They yelled in surprise and pain as the electricity emanating from the trap covered their bodies.

"It's just one man kill him" Blink said.

Aeon broke off into a run, golden energy surrounding his right hand. He slammed his fist into Senyaka's head, and then hit him point blank with an energy wave from his left hand.

"Damn Aeon, I never thought you'd improve this much" Brute said in amazement.

Aeon looked at his left hand, closing his eyes with a smile. The energy faded and his armour returned to its grey and red colour. He looked to Siryn and Banshee; both former X-men conflicted as they floated in midair. Hellfire used this opportunity to attack, slamming flaming talons into their backs.

"_**Hellfire stop, don't destroy them!" **_Aeon said.

Blink grinded her teeth together in frustration, this man was still willing to save the undead X-men. Random and Pyro got up off the floor, both dizzy from Aeon's attack. Brute punched the palm of his hand before stampeding towards both men.

"Oh shit!" Both men said before Brute knocked them into the air.

"Great job Brute, if only the others were here" Hellfire sighed, kicking Siryn across the head, and then throwing Banshee over her shoulder.

"_**Hellfire please, take me to where Sieg is now" **_Aeon said.

"You're not getting away that easily" Blink growled.

"Oh yes they are!"

Blink looked up and widened her eyes as Mimic swooped downwards, grabbing her by her neck and flying her away from the others. Aeon waved to his friend, if he had a mouth he would be smiling. Mimic and Blink rolled across the floor, the latter throwing a spear at her opponent. But much to her shock, Mimic dispelled the blink, his own hand giving off a pink aura.

"Your powers don't rip you apart, so what if you faced an opponent with your skin?" Mimic asked, his skin taking on a slight pink tone as he grabbed Blink's shoulder.

Hellfire created a pair of talons from her flames, grabbing Brute's massive shoulders. Aeon slid towards Frost, scooping her up in his arms and then jumping onto Brute's back.

'I'm on my way Sieg, I swear I'll save you' Aeon thought.

They flew away, leaving Mimic and Blink to fight a battle that would take them across the world.

* * *

Laurie looked at the remains of Kevin in complete and utter horror. The blood staining the grass and Sieg's helmet was still fresh, dripping across Sieg's sinister masked face. Sophia herself put her hand to her mouth while her friend fainted. But even with his legs ripped off, Kevin was still alive, breathing heavily and looking in shock at his wriggling legs. Sieg breathed like an animal as he looked at the girls, his clawed fingers flexing to form his corrupted sword. One side was a straight blade while the other was like a chainsaw blade. Dragging the blade across the floor, Sieg hunched his back.

"Sieg, is that you?" Lorna asked.

"We have to run away, you didn't see what he did to the Thunderbolts, plus he went toe to toe with Thor and the Sentry" Sophia said.

Sieg released a roar that shook the ground itself. Sophia fell to her knees, petrified by the fear as Polaris put her hands together. The Corrupt Sieg jumped at Polaris, pulling his sword arm back. She tried to stop the blade with her powers, but Sieg kept on swinging the blade downwards. Suddenly, Kurt teleported in between Sieg and the three girls, grabbing them and teleporting them away. Sieg's blade crashed into the ground and he turned to Kurt as he reappeared with Nate, Albion and Azure Eagle beside him.

"I see he did what was necessary" Azure Eagle said, looking over at Wither's two half's.

"I've obviously missed a lot haven't I?" Nate asked.

"Good thing you didn't show up when Osborn had that whole Hammer thing set up" Cyclops said as Magik teleported him, Colossus, Beast, Rogue, Psylocke, Iceman and Captain Britain onto the field.

Sieg growled, stepping towards the X-men and holding his sword out. Rogue slipped off her gloves, touching her teammates. Her eyes glowed red and her skin turned into steel while Psylocke's butterfly effect appeared over her head. Scott tilted his glasses, watching Sieg carefully. He paced around like an animal, his shoulders moving up and down with each breath. Then he struck, running straight towards the X-men. Azure Eagle, eager as always ran with his crossbow in hand. But before he could pull the trigger, X-man held his hand out, stopping Sieg in his tracks and lifting his feet off the ground.

"There's a lot of anger inside him" X-man said.

"Who Sieg or the Blue guy?" Iceman asked with a grin.

He waved his arms around, trying to get out of X-man's hold. Red energy began to seep out of his eyes and his chainsaw blade revved.

"EVERYONE SCATTER!!!" Albion yelled.

X-man threw his hands out, pushing his teammates aside as red beams flew from Sieg's eyes. The beam slammed into his telekinetic barrier, sending him sliding across the grass. Nate clapped his hand together, hitting Sieg from both sides with telekinesis. But Sieg's body quickly recovered and he unleashed a roar that threw Nate back. As soon as Sieg's feet touched the ground he ran for his nearest opponent, Magik.

"ILLYANA!!!" Colossus yelled.

Magik widened her eyes, Sieg's blade inches from her chest. Suddenly, Azure Eagle dived into Magik, pushing her to the ground. He then fired his crossbow, hitting Sieg in the eye.

"EAGLE WHAT ARE YOU DOING!!!" Albion yelled.

"Your welcome" He growled at Magik before shooting at Sieg again.

The bolts bounced off of his armour, scattering to the floor. Sieg growled, swinging his blade at Azure Eagle. But the man flipped back, throwing two feather blades into Sieg's chest. He brushed the blades off, the holes in his armour reforming before he moved to attack Colossus. Sieg pulled the arrow out of his regenerating eye as he swung his blade downwards.

"Comrade Sieg please…STOP!!!" Colossus yelled, blocking Sieg's swing with his wrist.

Sieg's eyes glowed as he began spinning the motors of his chainsaw blade, cutting into Piotr's armour. On instinct, Colossus punched Sieg to the side, putting a hand to his cut arm. Cyclops fired his optic blast, hitting Sieg in the back, giving Beast and Rogue the openings they needed. They slammed their legs into Sieg's chest, throwing him Captain Britain's arms.

"Betsy, use your telepathy now" Brian said.

Sieg repeatedly swung the back of his head into Brian's nose. But Braddock kept a hold of him, ignoring the heat of Sieg's armour as it burnt his arms. Psylocke walked towards her brother, but stopped as she saw Sieg's armour begin to glow red. With a yell, the young man unleashed an explosion of energy, throwing Braddock away from him and releasing a shockwave that threw Psylocke into Kurt's arms. Sieg ran at Kurt and Psylocke and Nightcrawler with a bestial growl.

"Kurt, teleport out now and bring Magma and Sunspot, Rogue, you go and absorb some of Wallflower's powers" Cyclops ordered.

Kurt and Rogue nodded as they popped out of the field. In the instant they were gone, Sieg ran at Cyclops. The Leader of the X-men rolled to the side and Albion ran forward, blocking Sieg's strike with his sword.

"Sieg, wake up, don't let this control you" Lazlo said.

Sieg grabbed Lazlo's arm and threw him aside, deflecting Cyclops's blast with his sword. Nightcrawler and Rogue reappeared with Magma and Sunspot. Colossus and Sunspot ran at Sieg, slamming their fists into his face. A crack ran across his helmet as he was sent flying Captain Britain's fist. Sieg rolled across the floor, growling as the damage to his helmet began to spread. X-man got up off the floor, running to Cyclops's side. Cyclops removed his glasses, and then opened his eyes while Nate released his psychokinetic energy. The two blasts slammed into Sieg's head, shattering his helmet and disrupting his mind.

"That things got powerful psychic defences, if I was on Mom's or even Xavier's level I'd probably be dead right now" Nate said.

"Okay, telepathy is absolutely out of the question then, Magma, Iceman hit his legs" Cyclops ordered.

But Sieg jumped upwards, throwing his sword into the ground. The energy it released tore the ground apart, throwing the X-men upwards and burying Beast, Colossus and Nightcrawler. A bolt of lightning suddenly slammed into Sieg's back, pushing him into the ground. Storm hovered towards the ground, striking Sieg with her lightning. Amara and Bobby fired ice and magma at Sieg's legs, sticking him to the ground. X-man then wrapped telekinetic energy around Sieg, keeping him in place as Rogue released Wallflower's pheromones. Storm controlled the wind, forcing the pheromones down Sieg's nose.

"Come on Sieg wake up" Albion whispered.

Sieg growled, his fangs grinding together and his red eyes flaring. Rogue released more and more calming pheromones, forcing them down Sieg's throat as well. But Sieg's anger continued to flare, energy rising from his body.

"That's it, I know how we can stop this" Rogue said, taking a step forward.

But Azure Eagle grabbed Rogue's arm firmly.

"You touch him, you die" He said.

"Is that a threat?" She asked with a glare.

"It's a fact, your body can't contain the power that Sieg holds, it'll drive you insane and destroy any trace of what you once were, there are two ways to deal with this, either we hold out until he runs out of energy or we kill him" Azure Eagle explained.

"WE HOLD THE LINE!!!" Albion yelled.

Sieg released the energy, throwing Storm aside and running towards Albion. Lazlo raised his blade, his armour gradually reforming. Sieg ran his claw across Lazlo's sword, marking it and then kicking him back. Albion blocked another slash, then swung his Sieg's shoulder. But Sieg grabbed the blade, roaring at Lazlo. The two stood on the spot, with Lazlo putting enough weight onto his blade to keep Sieg on the defensive.

"Get here quickly Aeon" Lazlo growled.

* * *

Gothica walked through the subbasement of the mansion, grinding his teeth together as he ejected another dose of Kick into his system. He used his new reality warping powers to control the floor of the drug, ensuring that he didn't overdose. The return of X-man and Hellfire had put unexpected kinks in his plan, but it wasn't enough to stop him. A smile crossed his face as his lieutenants walked to his side. John Proudstar, Eli Bard, Destiny, Julian Keller, Bishop and Caliban. Of course his other soldiers would be important to his plan, but right now they were the ones he needed. Eli Bard had the technarch virus to reanimate bodies; John Proudstar was the muscle, Destiny had the eyes to see possible outcomes of the battle, Hellion was the raw power, Bishop was the bomb and Caliban could locate possible recruits for the army. Alls he needed now was to find out where his teleporter was.

* * *

Blink aimed a fist towards Calvin's face, but the young man merely smirked as he sidestepped her blows. He swung around, striking her back and sending her stumbling across the floor. Clarice teleported and Calvin followed; grabbing her hand and twisting it round to her back.

"I've read about you, the survivors of Generation X commend you as a hero, now I see your nothing but a weak and easy to manipulate bitch who deserves to die if she carries on down the path she's walked" Mimic explained, venom and desperation dripping from his mouth.

"You don't know me, you don't know what its like to be trapped, with no one coming to save you" Blink said.

"I know EXACTLY WHAT IT'S LIKE!!!" Mimic yelled, pushing Blink to the floor.

She teleported, but no matter where she ran Mimic followed. He grabbed her by the neck, slamming her against a wall.

"You listen to me, you've had your chance to whine and I'm not taking it anymore, you listen and you accept what I have to say because what I say is going to save your life"

They looked one another in the eyes, practically growling at one another. For Blink, she only saw the surface of the eyes, an enemy who had to be killed. But Calvin saw underneath the eyes. He saw a woman who was lost and needed to be saved. Aeon would put his entire being into pulling this girl away from the darkness and if Calvin was to acknowledge his friendship with the man he needed to be willing to look underneath this woman's soul and put himself in her shoes. For he had already been in those shoes once.

"I remember, I was a few years younger than you were when you were with Generation X…. my father had unintentionally given me power and in my selfishness I tried twice to take power from the X-men, even becoming their leader during one attempt…but I learned from their example and the example of a good friend of mine that there were better things I could do with my power so I stepped up and became better…but then my powers became dangerous, I killed people, the X-men couldn't help me and my friend was always too busy saving complete strangers who didn't even ask for his name…I put myself into Exile, a prisoner without anyone caring, or at least I thought so…I hated everyone, I wanted to kill just like you do…but then I remembered, I remembered the feeling of being a hero and so I tried to become a hero again, but even then I was manipulated by a man who didn't give a damn about the world, I would have been willing to kill anyone and everyone that was in his way much like you are…Blink remember that feeling, of giving everything for your friends because those friends are still alive" Calvin explained, tears beginning to fall down his eyes as he remembered the loneliness, the shame of failure and the pride of friendship and Heroism.

_"Calvin, I'll always be your friend, even if you fall I'll give everything to pull you back up" Sven said, flashing a cheerful smile._

"Remember damn it Blink, pull yourself out of this dark and lonely place, reach out to your friends and for gods sake, do the right thing again…before its too late" With those words, Calvin let her go, allowing her to teleport away.

Looking at his hand, Calvin focused on finding the X-men. Soon the final battle would begin and the X-men would join together once again. And this time Mimic would be there as a proud X-man.

* * *

Driver lifted up the flap on the door, looking out into the streets.

"There any zombies out there?" Deadpool asked.

"Don't call them that" Driver said.

"Why not?" The Merc with the mouth asked.

"Because they're not rotting and they don't bite so they aren't zombies"

Driver then looked out again and widened his eyes as he saw a pack of dead people eating a mans guts.

"Okay…they are zombies" He sighed, stepping away from the door with a pale expression.

"What's the plan?" Domino asked.

"We hold out here and leave it to the main team, they restore communications then we get in touch with the Initiative and have them send support, I'm already starting to get some static through my info net, it's a lot better than what we had before" Cable explained.

"So we sit back and wait while the others save the day" Anole grunted, nursing his wounded leg.

"You guys don't have the stomach to gun down your friends"

The younger X-men showed no complaints as they waited for whatever plans the main teams of the X-men were carrying out. At the shelter, Elixir continued caring for the wounded that were being bought in whilst Dazzler, Husk, Chamber, Shatterstar and Cannonball cleared up the remaining undead. Jean, Rachel and other X-men and volunteers continued searching and taking survivors to the shelter.

"I'm just starting to hear the thoughts of people outside, the dome is getting smaller" Xavier said.

Noah and his group rampaged through an army of undead creatures. Noah jumped off of Juggernaut's back and punched aside the soldiers approaching them from their sides, running alongside the unstoppable man. Klara used her vines o slow down enemy movements, giving Molly openings to attack her opponents.

"Damn it, there's just too many" Mystique growled.

The corrupted Sieg slammed his fists into Albion's sword. His berserk flurry began to crack Lazlo's sword and the final strike snapped the blade in two. Lazlo yelled as Sieg slashed his left side, then slammed the heel of his foot into Lazlo's face. Wither crawled across the ground, the grass decaying under his touch. His legs twitched as he continued to move.

"Lord Gothica…please help me get away" He whispered.

"**Oh how pathetic" **Proteus said.

"Don't worry partner, I'm not done with the X-men yet, I still have several tricks left up my sleeve, come we need to gather some sacrifices" Gothica said with a smile as he disappeared into darkness.

Rockslide and Mercury sat apart from the others, trying to make sense of everything that was going on. Their friends were back from the dead and most of the X-men were already planning to kill them. They weren't sure whether to wish they would stay alive or stay dead. Driver sat down, running a hand through his hair in frustration. That's when he felt it, the feeling of fear.

"EVERYONE BRACE YOURSELVES!!!" He yelled.

But his warning was too late as Gothica appeared before them, consuming Rockslide and Mercury in his dark cloak. He then clicked his fingers, not only teleporting himself and his prisoners but also making the entire building disappear. With the X-men and police exposed, the insane and blood thirsty undead ran towards their new pray. Daken stopped in his tracks as Gothica covered him with his cloak. Mystique hesitated for a brief moment as the cloak began to consume her.

"BOY TAKE THE BABY!!!" Mystique yelled.

She threw the baby into Noah's arms before she disappeared. Gothica appeared before X-23, grinning as the girl tried to slash apart his tendrils. But she too was captured as he moved onto his next target. Dust was unconscious in Icarus's arms and she remained unconscious as he threw him into the arms of Gothica. Sieg unleashed a roar that threw aside his enemies. He ran at Captain Britain, picking up his sword and thrusting it towards the man.

"BRIAN!!!"

Suddenly, Megan jumped at her husband, pushing him away from the blade. The sword brushed past the woman's back. They rolled across the grass away from Sieg as he looked up. Cyclops and Iceman both smiled as a light began to shine above them. Azure Eagle grunted whilst Albion threw the remains of his sword aside. Aeon landed in front of Sieg, spreading his arms out as he took on his golden form.

"_**SIEG!!!" **_Aeon yelled.

Sieg growled before he ran straight towards Aeon. Sven stayed in place, yelling out Sieg's name as he awaited the blade. The gold armour turned white as Aeon opened the palm of his hand. Gold energy sparkled in his left hand as he moved towards Sieg. They thrust their hands forward. Their energy and blade respectively slammed together, releasing sparks that flew past the X-men. At the Shelter, Dazzler grinded her teeth together as more and more of the Undead began to approach.

"Great first I lose my sister now I'm gonna be violated by necro's" Dazzler mumbled.

Suddenly, a burst of flame covered one of the dead men. Lockheed breathed fire from his mouth, forming a line on the street that the undead would have to walk through. Pete Wisdom landed in front of, using his hot knife claws to behead six of the Undead men. Further down the path, at the back of the army of undead, Ink, Michael, Pixie and the other young mutants stopped in their tracks.

"Damn it, how are we supposed to get past all of them?" Ink asked.

Guardian and Vindicator then burst out of the ground, throwing the X-men back.

"It's simple really, you don't get through, you don't get away and you don't survive" Guardian said with a smirk.

"Especially this man" Vindicator said, grabbing Michael by his neck.

Grinding his teeth together, Michael mustered up his strength and slammed his feet into Hudson's chest, throwing her back. He rolled across the floor; looking up at the two Hudson's flying over him.

"Come on, just once more" He growled. "ONE MORE TIME!!!" He yelled, creating an energy barrier around himself.

With his power restored, Omega flew towards the Hudson's, grabbing their heads and flying them into the air. Pixie then chanted her spell, bringing them to the centre of the fight between the X-men and the undead army.

"OH GREAT JOB WITH THE TELEPORT PIXIE!!!" Ink yelled, slamming his fist into a zombies face.

Warpath flew over the field, landing and slamming his fist into the ground so hard that the resulting Earth Quake knocked everyone to the floor. James placed David and Noriko on the ground, turning to the other X-men at the shelter.

"Everyone I know how to get rid of this darkness" He said.

But James then felt an intense weight on his shoulders. Eventually his knees gave out and he fell to the ground. Looking to his right he widened his eyes as he saw Harry Leland standing over him.

"Sorry lad, but it's going to be a lot harder than that" Leland grinned.

"No it isn't" A second voice said.

A blast of yellow light slammed into Leland's chest, sending him flying past the undead army. James looked up and grinded his teeth together. He wasn't exactly happy that Neal Shaara had taken on the name Thunderbird. But he had no time for petty grudges; he needed to save the X-men. But they weren't all there yet, he needed to wait just a little bit longer. Noah and his group arrived, already doing their part in the fight.

"Hope!" Jean said, taking the baby out of Noah's arms.

"We found her, we saved her" Noah said with a smile.

Jean smiled before she pushed back another group of zombies. Gothica merely grinned as he watched the battles taking place. Blink may had disappeared and the X-men may have had the upper hand in their fight between the Undead Purifiers but Gothica still had his ultimate plan. The X-men were too distracted and the Initiative would be too busy trying to find a way to pierce the dome. Everything was going according to plan. He stood amongst his chosen, smiling as he extracted the transmode virus from their bodies.

"I've given you five a second chance at living, make sure you do not waste it" He giggled as he left the chosen five to go their separate ways.

His lieutenants were waiting for him, waiting to give them the orders they were looking for. Gothica lifted off his hood and bit into his arm, drawing blood from the skin. He spat on the ground, his blood spreading and forming a circle. Again he spat, then again and then again until eight spots of black blood began to twitch on the floor. Eli Bard gasped as the blood began to form eight different bodies. Gothica smiled as he laughed, watching his creations come to life.

"Behold Lieutenants my generals of the darkness, the ultimate beings of compromise, selfishness, greed, lust and corruption, they will be the ones to finish the X-men" Gothica explained.

They were essentially darker, evil versions of some of the X-men. A Cyclops wearing a black visor, a black furred version of Beast with a metallic spine and crystal knuckles. Colossus with spike across his shoulders and a more ferocious and demonic metal face, Iceman with pitch black ice skin, Storm wearing a spiky black bodysuit with hair covering her face and a version of Rogue with Mystique's skin and a black winged version of Angel, wearing a simple black robe. And perhaps the most favoured of Gothica's creations a version of Wolverine wearing a black bandanna mask, wielding claws with curved edges and longer grey hair.

"Everything has fallen into place" Gothica began as he inhaled another dose of kick "The X-men, my army, my dark champions and Aeon and his allies, soon we will be in place and I will have the power to achieve Ultimate Chaos…which means I have no use for your presence anymore Bard" Gothica grinned.

Eli Bard widened his eyes as Gothica grabbed his arm, the one he had been using to administer the virus that reanimated people's bodies. Gothica moaned as Bard screamed in agony, blood spreading across the floor and the fingers of his arm twitched in Gothica's hand.

"Don't worry Eli, you'll survive, now go and spend your immortality doing whatever you wish, which is going to be a lot in my new age of chaos" Gothica laughed. "I've given some people second chances today, I think it's time I reminded someone that she didn't actually have a second chance" He grinned as he slowly began to disappear.

"GOTHICA!!!!" Bard screamed.

* * *

Sieg opened his eyes, appearing in the white void he would use to interact with Aeon's spirit. Now the real Aeon stood before him, which led to many questions in Sieg's mind. Was the one who guided him for so long really Aeon's spirit or was it an hallucination? A part of his conscious? Was he crazy? Did Aeon ever actually die or did he just disappear for a while? If he did die when did he come back and was that what was effecting Sieg's link with the spirit world?

"_**If you doubt too much you'll never act"**_ Aeon suddenly said.

"Aeon…"

"_**Please Sieg, call me Sven…we're friends right?"**_

"Of course" Sieg whispered.

"_**Your not the first person to ever doubt themselves, doubt is a powerful enemy as cliché as it sounds sometimes the worst opponent you can face is yourself, your doubts of the future…What awaits in my future? Do I have a future? These questions can't be answered by anyone else but yourself, although some people can help you along the way eventually you have the choice on what kind of person you can become, but remember that your friends are always there for you, turn to them whenever you feel lost" **_Aeon explained.

"And what if they abandon me…LIKE THEY DID WITHER!!!!"

They returned to reality, standing amidst the X-men. The battle was over for now and Sieg's corrupted armour had shattered, but his red eyes continued to glow as he gripped the sword that had been rammed into Aeon's shoulder. Magik teleported to the field with Wallflower, Xavier, Jean, Dazzler, Gambit, Mimic, Elixir and the Beaubier twins. Brute and Hellfire then landed with Emma Frost thrown over the formers shoulder. Sieg looked Aeon in the eye, pulling his sword out and stepping back.

"Look at you all, you claimed to have been on Wither's side but look what's happened…YOUR ALL TO BLAME FOR HIS DOWNFALL! FROST FOR NOT LOOKING AFTER HER STUDENT!! XAVIER FOR NOT BEING THERE AND ESPECIALLY HIS FRIENDS FOR NOT DOING A DAMN FUCKING THING!!!!" Sieg yelled.

"Sieg please stop, Kevin's team mates had their own problems to deal with, and Kevin ran away from them" Cyclops said.

"And did any of them run after their "friend"?" Azure Eagle asked, crossing his arms.

Lazlo merely stayed silent, examining Sieg's expression as he fell to his knees.

"God Damn it, friends are supposed to look out for one another and look what happened to Wither, did any of you even try to give him help?" Sieg asked.

"We don't have time for a debate" Azure Eagle said.

"This is important" Brute added.

"Don't even think of speaking to me Brute" Eagle growled, looking at Brute with pure hate.

"Guys, I think the blue guy is right" James said, walking in between the teammates.

"Scott, James discovered something" Jean said.

Aeon grinded his teeth together, he wasn't exactly sure what they could do. Sure Gothica was the immediate threat but right now Sieg needed support as well.

"Sieg" Laurie said, kneeling down to her boyfriend's side.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" Sieg yelled, pushing the girl aside. "Kevin loved you and yet you didn't acknowledge that affection" He said, standing over Laurie.

"I was hurt, if I hadn't been hurt I would have followed Kevin and tried to save him" Laurie pleaded with the boy in front of her, but his glare bought tears to her eyes.

Luckily Storm was controlling the pheromones, otherwise everyone would have been crying. But then the atmosphere suddenly darkened and the X-men felt a heavy weight on their shoulders. Aeon turned his head, his eyes releasing a red glow as he looked upon a grinning Gothica, standing right behind Laurie.

"Oh poor Wallflower, you wouldn't have saved him, even when you weren't hurt you didn't even try" Gothica chuckled.

Laurie slowly turned around, fear pheromones emanating from her body. The other X-men trembled in fear as Gothica walked towards Laurie. She crawled backwards, Gothica's form changing to that of William Stryker.

"Do you want to know why you came back?" He asked with a grin.

Sieg looked at Gothica, growling while Aeon put a hand to his head. The pheromones were strong, so strong that those around them were practically petrified. Gothica shifted out of Stryker's form, patting Laurie's head.

"Your arm had been Withered by Kevin, there wasn't anything that could have healed that outside of reality manipulation or a healing factor…your DNA was exactly identical so you weren't a clone and you don't have a trace of the transmode virus in your body, no magical energies in your blood or cosmic power…so that can only mean a few things, did you ever ask Emma Frost what she saw in your mind?" Gothica explained, looking to Frost as she woke from her sleep.

"Oh my god!" Both Laurie and Frost said, overcome by the impossibility of what Gothica was saying.

"No cybernetics or damage to your skull or brain, your arm was never withered and thus you were never shot…have any of you figured it out yet?" Gothica asked with a giggle.

"She never died!" Azure Eagle said.

"But that's impossible, she was in my arms" Elixir cried, falling to his knees.

"She was, then she was buried…oh I want to say it so much but I think I'll just leave it to Laurie here…tell me Miss Collins, what are you?"

Laurie put her hands to her head as countless images flashed before her eyes. New memories and experiences, all different to what she had previously remembered experiencing.

"SAY IT LITTLE WALLFLOWER! REVEAL THE TRUTH!!" Gothica screamed with a cackle.

"I'm not the Laurie Collins you all knew…I'm the Laurie Collins of an alternate reality" She said, a silent tear dripping down her face.

"You see…she never came back, the Laurie Collins of this reality died with the memory of her boyfriend hating her" Gothica cackled, looking at Elixir with a sadistic smile.

"I'VE HEARD ENOUGH!!!" Sieg and Azure Eagle yelled, jumping at Gothica.

They grabbed him, remaining angry and focused on the single task of killing him. And with their focus on him, they didn't notice the darkness surrounding the three of them.

"SIEG!!!" Laurie screamed.

"KYLE!!!" Brute yelled out, trying to reach Azure Eagle.

But the three of them disappeared and the dome covering Westchester expanded, destroying the military vehicles around it. Aeon rubbed his eyes while Jean and Storm kneeled down to Laurie's side. James walked into the middle of the group, coughing to draw their attention.

"Guys I know this is a bad time but I really need to tell you all something, it's central to defeating Gothica" James said.

"What's the use, we don't know where Gothica's gone" Brute said.

"I know!"

The voice drew the X-men's attention and they suddenly widened their eyes. Standing before them was Blink, her hands to her chest as she walked forward.

"He's going to Magneto's Utopia in hopes of killing both him and the Scarlet Witch, then he will move onto any other nation he wishes, it doesn't matter which one he chooses he'll give every last person on any island he touches, he's powering himself with the souls of people he's resurrected" Blink explained.

"Not to mention Proteus and all the drugs he's taking, but that is what will be his downfall" Warpath added.

"What do you mean?" Rogue asked.

"My brother regained his soul just long enough to tell me the key to defeating Gothica and getting out of this dome, Gothica's body has become unstable, he can barely hold it together anymore…if we make him overuse Proteus's power then he'll decay even more and eventually he'll be forced to separate himself from Proteus, that is when we can attack him, Colossus has his metal skin so her can finish off Proteus like he did the last time" James explained.

"But what about this dome?" Dazzler asked.

"Light and hope, that's all he told me that we need light and hope in order to destroy the dome" James said, lowering his head.

"Well I gotta say this brother of yours sure is unhelpful" Hellfire said sarcastically.

"Alexis please shut up!" Lazlo groaned.

Aeon put a hand to his chin, thinking of Sieg and Azure Eagle as well as the meaning of John Proudstar's last words. That's when it hit him, when he realised what needed to be done.

_"**Everyone, start gathering as many people in one location as you can, find survivors, X-men, students, Brute get your Initiative allies together and have them gather at the dome…we already have our lights, it's time we restored Hope, I'm going to need everyone to put their faith, courage and friendship into my plan, a plan that's going to save everyone!"**_

Next Chapter 13: Wolverine at peace

* * *

And that's the mystery of Laurie solved, she's an alternate reality version, how she got to this reality...well let's just say it wont be revealed in this fic :)

Next Chapter we take a break from Aeon and his allies and focus on everyone's favourite X-man (and sometimes Avenger) Wolverine!

Also I present another profile, this time its the villain of this series Gothica

_"I am fear itself, I see your darkness, give into it like so many others do!"_

_Nathan Korvus_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Gothica_

_Armour Colour: Black_

_Power: Creation of illussions based on fears and desires, teleportation, control of shadows, immunity to magic, field cancels out telepathy and communications, Weakness: Weak in sunlight, definate insanity, weak against opponents maintaining full confidence and courage, fear of Hellfire, petrifiying fear of Deathblade_

And thats that, till next time folks


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 13: Wolverine at Peace

**I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do isn't very nice. You all know me as Logan or Wolverine, but long before those names I was James Howlett. Weak, sickly little boy who…just stating a fact became the most savage, skilled and brutal fighter in the entire world, by definition a badass. I've been a soldier, a secret agent and just a plain thug; I've lived up to people's dreams and become a costumed super hero. Alpha Flight, the X-men, the black ops version X-Force, the Avengers, and hell I've even been on the Fantastic Four (don't ask). But the one thing I've never been allowed to be is at peace. If things went my way I would have had a family of my own, maybe in some other world out there I would have married Rose, never lost my dad (or at least the guy who raised me, again don't ask) and found a brother in Dog. Maybe my marriage with Mariko would have worked out, or maybe I would have stayed with Itsu and raised my son to be an honourable man. Damn there are so many things that should have gone right for me. But nothing went right did it, and I've got all the time in the world to think about it.**

Darkness was all around him, nothing but memory after memory flashing through his mind. A hundred failures and missed opportunities in front of him. He was chained and hung up like an animal, just watching all of his mistakes. The Red haired beauty that had protected him when no one else would, the first person he had come to love. She stumbled through the crowds as Logan popped out his claws. He swung his fist back, ready to plunge the bone claw into Dog's chest. But then the beauty tripped, falling into Logan's claw.

"James!" She whispered. "How could you kill me?"

Logan let out a howl as he struggled against the chains, popping his claws out. He kept on pushing and pulling, the cuffs scraping away his skin. The chains broke and he fell into the darkness. Cold air swept his hair and skin back as he flew through clouds, explosions erupting in the air and the sounds of gunshots ringing in his ear. He slammed into the ground, leaving a man-sized crater.

"Damn Logan, you really know how to make an entrance"

Crawling out of the crater, Logan growled as he looked at the two men waiting for him. It was Normandy, the plains and forests that the allied soldiers crept through. He was in the old military uniform, minus the helmet. Standing in front of him was the young Bucky and Captain America.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Logan growled.

Gunshots echoed and a bullet flew into Logan's head ricocheted off his skull.

"WATCH OUT KROUT'S INCOMING!" Bucky yelled, cocking his Thompson.

Nazi soldiers marched towards the group, firing their rifles and machine guns. Captain America stood strong and proud, blocking the shots with his shield.

"You wanna play this game bub, fine I'll play!" Logan growled before he ran into the fight.

**This guy's really gotta do his research, or maybe I've gotta do mine. I can't remember whether I was in Normandy or not!**

Wolverine beheaded a Nazi soldier, stopping for a moment as he thought about his past.

**Where was I at this time? No, this is what he's trying to do to you bub, make you doubt yourself. You remember everything!**

Two Nazi soldiers popped out of their cover, consuming Logan with their flamethrowers. But Wolverine ran through the flames, his hair and skin growing back as he slashed the two soldiers' across the head.

**You'll have to kick it up a notch bub, because there's no way your mind games will turn me into mush!**

Captain America threw his shield, hitting two Nazi soldiers and running past Logan. He kicked tow more soldiers, then smacked another with his shield. Suddenly the sound of a gunshot echoed in the air and Logan looked towards Cap. A bullet ripped through his chest, and then another bullet tore at his stomach. Then came another shot, and then another and another.

**Cap was assassinated; there was nothing I could have done. I doubted his death but now I accept it.**

"Logan…where were you when I died?" Cap asked weakly.

Logan blinked and then he found himself in the snow, the cold air putting a shiver down his spine. He wore his yellow and blue costume, growling, as he looked at the backs of Guardian, Vindicator and his other Alpha Flight teammates. They faced the Collective/Xorn, energy swirling in his hands as the Canadian heroes attacked him. With a mere wave of his hand he threw them back, sweeping away the snow and burning Logan's skin. Another layer appeared over his skeleton as he looked at the Collective, Heather and James Hudson were right beneath him, staring into their old team mates eyes.

"Logan…why didn't you stay with us?" They asked in unison.

**James, Heather…so that's it huh!**

"That's the game you're playing, guilt for things that weren't in my control…I wasn't there, it would be different if I was there but you can't make me blame myself for the actions of another" Logan explained.

"And what about your own actions Logan?"

Logan turned to the barer of the voice, widening his eyes as he looked into Gorgon's shining eyes. He threw his head back, his yell of agony muffled by the stone that replaced his skin. Gorgon smirked as he walked over to the Wolverine statue.

"So many people died when the Hand took you Logan, even your own friend Northstar!" Gorgon said, placing his glasses over his eyes. "Make no mistake Logan, more will die soon enough" Gorgon said as he pulled his fist back.

Suddenly, the stone cracked and Logan roared, slashing off Gorgon's head with one swing of his arm.

"You really think this is going to keep me down?" Logan asked.

"No, but you've got to admit the emo's mind games are useful!"

Logan's ears perked up and his eyes widened as he heard the voice behind him. Turning around, Logan bought his hands up, blocking a massive claw swipe. The force of the blow sent him sliding backwards, slamming into a tree. Wolverine growled as the darkness disappeared for just a moment. That moment was all he needed to identify his attacker, Sabretooth. He was in his brown and orange costume with the fur on his shoulders. Not one trace of the transmode virus was in his body. He had been genuinely resurrected.

"I'm back runt, and in for a whole new age of tormenting you" Sabretooth said with a grin.

**Victor Greed and I have fought for as long as I can remember. Since the days we manifested our abilities Romulus has been manipulating us into fighting one another in his attempts to create an heir. We didn't need manipulation, Creed's an asshole, and asshole I'm gonna kill one day.**

"What a disgrace you've become runt, you get your memories back you fix your problems, is never that easy you know…in this world we live in something's always round the corner waiting to kick your ass, I get given a second chance along with four others and this is I've chosen to use it, torture and torment you for the rest of your life…which is gonna be a long one, everyone you've ever loved, everyone you'll ever interact with…NONE OF THEM WILL BE SAFE!" Sabretooth yelled as he slashed Wolverine across the chest.

**Nothings gone right for me, I've lost friends, lovers and family. I crossed lines, lines that maybe didn't need to be crossed when I was in X-force.**

Darkness overcame him again and he was in his X-Force costume, cutting apart Purifier's with his other teammates beside him. X-23 slashed off a Purifier's ear and Warpath threw his knife into a Purifier's chest. Wolverine looked to his teammates, two people he should have kept away from killing. He was the only one in the X-men who should have been doing this, or at least that's what he felt at times. Rahne wasn't a murderer and X-Force was only sanctioned by the Skrull Cyclops, even if he was the real genuine Cyclops one man didn't have the right to decide the methods to which mutant kind should be saved. Wolverine jumped at one of the armoured "right" mechs, tearing through the machines cockpit.

"I don't care what kind of reputation you have, I'm going to kill you right here and now" The Hood said, firing a series of bullets into Wolverine's head.

"Seriously, you're throwing this loser at me!" Wolverine said, his costume changing to his yellow and black one.

He lunged forward, driving his claws into the Hood's chest. The illusion disappeared and Logan found himself once again faced with darkness.

**I couldn't save my friends!**

Steve Rogers, James and Heather Hudson appeared before him, looking at him with pity.

"All the teams your on and your never there when it matters" Heather said coldly.

"We should have left you in the snow!" said James.

"Logan, you're a disgrace, I never should have let you on the team!" Steve Rogers coldly spat.

Logan merely grinned, walking past the three apparitions.

"The best you can do is remind me of my failures, I know what I failed to do" Logan growled, looking at the image Daken.

**I've failed to save my son!**

He wiped the blood off of his chest, wiping away the illusion of the costume as well. The darkness disappeared, replaced by the mansion and the flames and ruins around it. Clicking his neck, Wolverine got up off the floor, splinters popping out of his skin and cuts sealing themselves. He pulled a stake out of his back and rubbed his mouth as a slash across his face healed itself. Walking towards the mansion, Wolverine sniffed for Sabretooth. He smelt the other four scents of those who had been freed of the transmode virus; they were walking away from the mansion. Then he smelt another scent, one that had the transmode virus inside them and was very familiar to Logan.

'Should have known they bring her back' Logan thought, closing his eyes as he saw who was in the living room.

**One thing that's always stood out in my mind, one thing that's always seemed to repeat itself in my long list of things that don't go right is the number of lovers I have. And out of all of them there's one that's stood out for me!**

"Mariko!" Logan whispered.

The woman stood in the centre of the room, her scent no different than what it had been many years ago. Logan knew it was a trap but still walked forward, soaking in her scent and embracing her in a hug. For a moment the transmode virus across her face disappeared and a tear fell down her cheek.

"Logan…please set me free" She said.

He kissed her cheek, holding her tightly.

"Please Logan, I can feel him clawing at my soul, please don't let him take me again, not for one second"

She was begging him, and he hesitantly raised his hand, placing his knuckle on her chest. The woman smiled, brushing Logan's face with her finger.

"Mariko…I love you!" He said before he kissed her.

The two of them embraced one another's lips, keeping their eyes closed. They held onto one another tightly, pouring all their forgotten passion into the kiss. A tear fell down Mariko's cheek and even as the blade was rammed through her chest she continued to smile. Logan cradled the woman he had loved in his arms before he looked above.

**I failed the women that I loved! But the one thing I'm not going to fail at is kicking Sabretooth's ass.**

Victor Creed's ears twitched as he heard Logan's roar. A metal claw popped through the floor, piercing Victor's foot. The man yelled out as Wolverine tore through the ceiling, pulling Sabretooth's legs and pulling him into the room. Wolverine grabbed Sabretooth's hair and leg and threw him straight out of the living area.

"Really runt, your really going to play this game again?" Victor asked.

"DAMN RIGHT I AM!" Logan yelled.

He stabbed Sabretooth in the chest, spinning around and throwing them through the garage door. Both got off the floor, slashing one another across the chest. Sabretooth grabbed Wolverine's head, but Logan stabbed his claws through Sabretooth's wrists. He then slashed the man across the throat, leaning back to avoid a counter swipe. Sabretooth threw Logan into one of the cars, and then swung a claw at the x-man. Wolverine rolled to the side and Sabretooth's claw practically tore off the left side of the car.

**He and I will never be friends, at least not in this world. The two of us are going to be fighting for a long time, it won't end tonight, nor will it end tomorrow but someday it'll end just as someday Xavier will achieve his dream. But it's not today!**

Logan sliced off Sabretooth's hand, and then slashed him across the chest and face. He then slammed his elbow into the back of the man's head, knocking him into fuel leaking out of the car. Popping his claws back in, Logan turned around and walked away, reaching into his pocket for his lighter.

**What…I'm allowed to have cigars for a reunion!**

He threw the lighter into the fuel, smiling as he heard Sabretooth yell. The explosion tore apart the garage as Logan walked away. He continued to walk away from the mansion, intending to join his teammates and fight alongside them once again.

"Thank you Mariko!" He whispered silently and solemnly.

**I'm the best there is at what I do and what I do will last a long time. It won't end today and it certainly isn't going to end tomorrow or the week after but someday like everything else it'll end. I've made some mistakes, failed to save people and I've got all the time in the world to think about it, and all the time in the world to make up for it. In my long life I've been on plenty of teams, but the one team I'll always go back to is the X-men!**

The battle was not yet over, the fight against Gothica had yet to end.

Chapter 14: Unification

* * *

Next time we go back to the X-men, with Blink revealing the details of a ritual and the people he will sacrifice, fortunately Warpath has a counter. Plus Brute tries to bring together some allies from the Initiative while Azure Eagle opposes a changed Gothica as he begins his attack on Magneto's Utopia!

Hope everyone enjoyed the short chapter, now I leave you with yet another profile

_"STOP MAKING FUN OF ME! I'm not too smart, but I know that you never abandon what's right!"_

_Rick Mason_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Brute_

_Armour Colour: Brown/Yellow_

_Power: Super Strength and invulnerability, control of probabilities, berserker mode increase in strength to Hulk like levels, Weakness: Loss of intelligence in berserker mode, not much intelligence altogether_


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men or the Initiative

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 14: Unification

James Proudstar stood amongst some of the gathered survivors and X-men allies. Cable and the younger x-men were cut off from the field and from Aeon's plan. But James couldn't help but feel that there was more to Gothica's attack on Utopia than Blink was letting on.

"Blink, what exactly is Gothica going to do with the people he's captured?" James asked.

"He only told us a few hours ago, he's created a modified version of one of Selene's rituals, he'll gather a group of "defiant enemies", a group of "loyal retainers" and an army of "those who died in tragedy" and one more sacrifice that he wouldn't tell us about" Blink explained.

"That must be either Azure Eagle or Sieg, but what about this army of the dead?" Albion asked.

Emma Frost had been bound with Nightcrawler and Magik watching over her. She listened to the conversation Blink and Warpath were having. "Those who died in tragedy", there had to be a tragedy that stood out for mutants or even the X-men. Gothica was waging a psychological war against the X-men. That's when Emma Frost realised what Blink meant.

"The people of Genosha!" She said, catching the X-men's attention.

"What are you talking about Frost?" Betsy asked.

"Gothica is going to use the bodies of the people that died in Genosha for his ritual as well as the attack on Utopia" Emma said.

Aeon nodded his head, jumping onto the top of a car. He looked amongst the X-men gathered around him and silently hoped that Brute came through. Brute walked out of the dome, heading towards the Initiative agents.

"Ms Cooper, please get on the horn to the Initiative, I need any available agents to come to this place now" Brute said.

With a nod of her head, Valerie Cooper contacted the Initiative's immediate response division.

* * *

Elsewhere, in the dark depths of another world, Azure Eagle stirred in his sleep. His armour covered his body as he looked to the figures in front of him. Sieg had been chained to a white cross with Gothica standing beside him. The mad mans armour was similar to what it had been in his youth, black bat wings with a hood covering his helmet, a simple pointed horned helmet covering his eyes and ears, with his decaying white hair exposed and grinning fangs flashing. But his chest armour was white with the transmode virus spreading around his arms and dark energy flowing around his feet.

"I hope you like the stage Azure, its quite a good one don't you think, a world for you to die in, knowing that you couldn't do anything for Sieg" Gothica said with a chuckle.

Azure Eagle remained silent as he drew two crossbows, aiming them at both Gothica and Sieg. For a moment Gothica hesitated before he burst into uncontrollable laughter.

"I enjoyed making that Laurie girl suffer and especially that idiotic Foley, he has to live knowing his real girlfriend died with the memory of him yelling at her and lets not forget Emma Frost's punishment, the X-men will hate her and do cruel things to her for her "betrayal", they aren't even going to consider the possibility of mind control" Gothica grinned.

The Blue armoured man remained silent and uncaring as he fired his crossbows at Gothica. He moved swiftly, dodging the projectiles and creating a spear with the power of the transmode virus. The spear sparked with dark energy as he threw it at Azure Eagle. Moving to the side, Azure Eagle bought up his hand, blocking a punch that came at him from behind. Gothica gasped, his sneak attack had failed. Azure Eagle swung his elbow around, trying to hit Gothica. But once again Gothica disappeared. Azure Eagle then turned around, aiming his crossbow at Gothica' face.

"Your no fun!" Gothica muttered, teleporting before Eagle could fire.

Gothica flew over Azure Eagle, creating a Halberd. He swung the poleaxe at Azure Eagle, who easily blocked the attack with his left wing. Azure Eagle then flew upwards, throwing a flurry of feather Kunai. But Gothica span his staff around, batting the knives away. He lifted the poleaxe onto his shoulder then launched a wave of dark energy towards Azure Eagle. The armoured man wrapped his wings around his chest, deflecting the energy wave.

"What no words for me Azure, no breaking me before you kill me, mentioning all my faults and failures before you put me out of my misery" Gothica said with a laugh.

But Azure Eagle remained silent, flying straight towards Gothica, his crossbows blazing. Gothica flew to the right and then to the left, dodging the storm of bolts. Azure Eagle switched his crossbows to sword mode and swung them into Gothica's poleaxe. Their blades remained locked, their glowing eyes piercing into one another's souls.

"You're a fool Azure Eagle, you were a nice guy once, hell a bit too much of a pussy but we could have been friends, but then after one little spat you abandon your best friend!" Gothica grinned.

Suddenly, blue energy shot out of Azure Eagle's crossbows, sending Gothica flying to the ground. Azure Eagle then landed in front of Gothica, kicking him in the chest, and then slashing him across the face. He roared as he used both his wings to slice off Gothica's wings and arms. Gothica yelled in agony before he smirked.

"Nice try!" He whispered.

Suddenly, dark energy poured out of his stumps, wrapping around Azure Eagle and lifting him off the floor.

"But as you can clearly see, this isn't going to be an easy victory" Gothica grinned.

While a battle was being fought in the darkness of Gothica's created world, Proteus was already beginning a battle against Utopia. His army of the undead had marched across the ocean floor, walking past the lingering Atlanteans and climbing up the tower that kept Utopia above the ocean. Scarlet Witch widened her eyes as she saw the many zombies and resurrected Brotherhood and X-men members walking towards the main buildings of Utopia.

"EVERYONE GET INSIDE!" She yelled.

Amelia Voight used her abilities to teleport some of the children and non-combatant mutants into the buildings, returning to see Frenzy, Projector and Gargoille rushing into the fight. Gothica/Proteus smirked as he ran a hand across Mystique's cheek.

"**I'm gonna enjoy tearing you up Darkholme, not because of my mother but because hearing you scream will be so fun"** Proteus said.

Scarlet Witch used her probability altering powers to weaken the edge of Utopia, crumbling rocks and sending some of the zombies back into the water. Projector punched several zombies across the face while Frenzy twisted their necks round.

"These guys aint dying!" Frenzy said.

"Yeah no shit!" said Skid's as she threw several zombies back with her barrier.

She then widened her eyes as she saw Rusty walking through the crowds.

"Rusty…Rusty it's me" Skid's said.

Suddenly Exodus flew out of one of the windows, lashing out at the zombies with his telepathy. Gergoille grabbed one zombie and dropped him from high up, grinding her teeth together as the zombie kept on crawling towards the building.

"**Where's Magneto, I want to rip his bucket head off his neck!" **Proteus said.

"Sorry bastard but you'll have to settle for me" Frenzy growled, jumping at Proteus.

"FRENZY DON'T!" Exodus yelled.

With a simple wave of his hand, Proteus ripped the young woman apart. The other Acolytes widened their eyes while Exodus's eyes glowed in anger. Proteus/Gothica merely smirked as he waved his hand again, commanding his army to charge.

* * *

Brute tapped his foot against the floor, leaning against one of the O.N.E APC's. He honestly didn't know why he had joined the Initiative. Ever since that day nothing had gone right, more often than not he found himself fighting the wrong battles. The sooner the act was repealed the better. But right now he had a battle that was worth fighting in, and he wasn't going to let his friends face the coming battle without hope.

"You called?" A voice asked from above.

Brute looked up, blinking in surprise as he saw the gathered Initiative allies. Those who couldn't fly were wearing the standard issue jetpacks. Included in the roster were Initiative recruit Butterball, wearing the standard fatigues, mask and shirt along with the Eric O'Grady Ant-man, Justice, Ultra-Girl, Ms Marvel and Michael Van Patrick.

"Sorry about the wait, had a little mess with Hydra to clean up" MVP said.

"Still we're here now, what is it you need us for?" Ms Marvel asked.

"Well first of all I'll need you to get down here and start praying" Brute grinned as the Avengers looked at him in confusion.

* * *

James looked at Aeon, standing on the roof of a car with the others watching him.

**I'm James Proudstar, X-man and X-Force member. But with the Skrull Cyclops gone X-Force might not be necessary anymore. Still, the days of killing aren't over yet, the X-men will go after their enemies for blood and Gothica will deserve blood, he killed Theresa and her baby, but this Aeon guy doesn't want to kill Gothica.**

**_"It can be done, we can beat Gothica without having to kill him" _**Aeon said, looking down at the X-men.

"With all due respect Aeon, Gothica cant be allowed to get away with this" Xavier said.

**_"He wont, I promise that he will be captured…we have to defeat his ideal of cruelty with our ideal of Hope and Faith!"_**

"Or a claw through his head" Wolverine said as he walked towards the group.

**Logan brings up a good point, as Rachel and Jean hug him I cant help but think of how easy killing is for Logan. He understands that sometimes-dirty jobs need to be done and he told me I wasn't up for those kinds of jobs. I wish I took his advice.**

Aeon looked out amongst the gathered survivors, all of them had sadness in their eyes. They had seen their dead rise and try to kill them and he understood their pain. And that wasn't just his ability to put himself in another shoes.

"The way I see it, unless we find some way to disrupt this ritual then we'd better forget breaking through the dome, we need to be prepared for everything" Cyclops said.

"Well there's my metal skin, which Mimic and Rogue can copy, Wolverine has his skeleton and Kurt and Blink can teleport, Aeon's armour protects him and Nathan…"

"Nate!" X-man corrected.

"Sorry, Nate could protect any additions to the team with his TK" Colossus explained.

"I could do it too, in theory any telekinetic could" Jean added.

"I'll stop the ritual, I've got the perfect countermeasure for it" James said.

"What are you talking about Jimmy?" Logan asked.

"It's called the Ghost Dance"

**When I was a kid often I was preached about the spirituality of our tribe and our Thunderbird. But I never figured we were magic users, I suppose a connection with the dead is somewhat magical. Funny, most people dismiss religion and spirituality in exchange for science, or they just focus on the things that are right in front of them that don't need any great big explanation. We've all seen our share of death and we all know that there's more to the world than science, even Hank a scientist himself puts his faith in me, helping me get the white paint onto my skin.**

**"_Everyone we've got everything that we need, fighters, plans and most of all the heart to win, but right now in order to break through this dome I need every single one of you to put your faith in us, look deep into your mind and think of those you've lost, do not remember them as they are now but as they used to be, remember the greatest and happiest moment you had spent with the ones who have been lost to us, hold onto those moments and have faith that in the future those who have yet to come will also experience those moments" _**Aeon explained, his echoing voice filled with passion and determination.

**Guys like Aeon seem like they should be in these public teams. But I don't understand why he isn't in the Initiative. He'd get all the attention, all the faith he'd need to make him the strongest super human on Earth.**

"Everyone listen to me, he's right, positive thinking will overcome this darkness and positive thinking will make the light that drives away the darkness stronger, Noah, Miss Blaire please when I armour up hit me with everything you've got" Lazlo said.

"Are you sure about this?" Alison asked.

"I've known Sven all my life, when he says he'll make the impossible possible trust me, he'll make it possible Miss Blaire"

"Please call me Ali!" Dazzler said with a smile as her eyes glowed.

Noah nodded his head, releasing the clips on his gauntlets. He threw off the huge gloves; closing his eyes as he thought of the better times he had spent with Virgil. They remembered their dead, thinking of the happiest moments, driving out the bad times with the better memories of the good times. Aeon's armour changed to a white and red colour as he closed his eyes also.

**I think I'm starting to understand why this guy doesn't appear in the public spotlight.**

* * *

Azure Eagle struggled under the grip of Gothica's dark tentacles.

"You certainly put a lot of effort into this fight but now I think its time you disappeared forever, your lucky, you don't get to see Sieg's fall into darkness, oh well you'd probably just kill him anyway to avoid that happening wouldn't you, just like you killed Dazzler's sister and how you were fully prepared to kill Wither" Gothica explained, tightening his grip on Eagle's neck.

But Azure Eagle remained silent, relaxing his arms.

"His fall into darkness is inevitable, Destiny said so, I might as well speed it up!" Gothica grinned, dark energy flowing from his regenerated fingers. "This'll either corrupt him or kill him, either way your rid of him"

He threw Azure Eagle aside and began walking towards Sieg.

* * *

Projector punched a group of zombies aside, widening his eyes as one jumped towards him. Speed suddenly ran in, punching the zombie across the face.

"Thanks kid, what the hell is your Grandpa doing?" Projector asked.

"I don't know, Mom says he's looking for something, but I have no idea what metal on Earth could put him in that condition, I mean he's bleeding from the nose man" Speed explained.

Proteus smiled as his servants began to write the symbols into the floor and walls around Utopia. He chained his sacrifices to the main building of Utopia and looked towards Magneto. The man was just sitting on the rock, zombies pressing themselves against his magnetic field.

Inside the realm of darkness, Gothica grinned at Sieg's hopeless expression. He unleashed a laugh as he threw the dark matter at Sieg. Suddenly, Azure Eagle slid into the path of the energy, breaking his own wings in order to deflect the blast. Gothica then threw his spear, widening his eyes as Azure Eagle sacrificed his left gauntlet to block the blade. His helmet cracked and a portion of it fell off, revealing his determined right eye.

"I don't understand, why aren't you killing Sieg to avoid the inevitable future?" Gothica asked.

"Your pathetic!" Azure Eagle growled.

Brute pressed his hand against the dark dome with a smile.

"If there's one thing that the men and women here are willing to do Aeon is put their faith in a stranger, that's you" Brute said.

"The one thing I believe in, the one thing I haven't lost faith in is HIM!" Azure Eagle yelled, emptying the clips of his guns into Gothica's face.

Energy seeped out of his hands as he threw his right arm upwards. A giant energy pillar suddenly burst out of the ground, consuming Gothica.

"GO…TO…HELL!" Azure Eagle yelled in between his blasts.

He grabbed Sieg and pulled him out of his restraints, jumping towards the energy pillar. In Utopia, Proteus yelled in agony as a hole opened in Gothica's body. The Acolytes and Speed watched in horror as Azure Eagle jumped out of the body with Sieg over his shoulder. Dark liquid dripped off his shoulders as he turned to face Gothica.

"You…you can still create energy pillars?" Gothica asked in his pain.

"God would it kill you to shut up for FIVE MINUTES!" Azure Eagle yelled, firing a bolt from his crossbow.

**I think I understand now…why this Aeon person isn't part of a team. He has the most friends I've ever seen, true friends that'll look out for him but they never make a team. Aeon knows that despite those staying in the light being more recognised than the ones who lurk in the shadows it is those who run into those shadows to pull out those trapped by darkness that make the most difference. He fights the darkness in his own way, so that teams like X-Force aren't necessary.**

Glowing cracks ran across Aeon's armour whilst Dazzler and Noah unleashed their powers on Albion. The mans armour unleashed a brilliant light as he walked towards Aeon.

"Ready to do this old friend?" Lazlo asked.

**"_Is the team I'm taking ready?"_**

Nightcrawler, Colossus and Wolverine nodded their heads. Jean, Nate and Rachel all stepped up with Cyclops in front. Adjusting her gloves Rogue nodded while Blink readied her teleport. Hellfire resisted the urge to squeal as she felt Aeon smile at his allies. James strapped his daggers to his belt, the white paint of the ghost dance covering his face and chest. He closed his eyes, remembering the happier moments.

"_Brother, Brother, hey John I did it!" James called out, running to his brother's side._

"_Did what James?" John asked._

"_The target, I managed to hit the target, come and watch me" James said eagerly._

_John smiled as he walked with his brother to the target range. The young apache pulled his hand back and threw his dagger into the bulls eye. James grinned as he looked back at John, the older brother clapping his hands before he ruffled James's hair._

"_Remember what I told you James" John said._

"_Never give up!"_

"_Never give up and never stop fighting for what you believe in"_

_James laughed as John drilled his fist into his skull, and then threw him onto his shoulders._

**John, I can let go now, I can let go of the bad memories and embrace the good ones. Whatever plan this faceless stranger has for the battle at hand, I can confidently say that I believe in him.**

"Let's do this Sven!" Lazlo said.

Aeon nodded his head before his armour shattered.

* * *

The light caused the public around them to cover their eyes. But Blink merely raised her hand; ready to teleport the group away. The light unleashed by the two friends burst through the dome, reaching up as far as space itself. Brute smiled as the dome began to break apart, the dark matter cracking, crumbling and eventually disintegrating. The moon was still out, even over Utopia and as the army of Gothica began to break through the Acolyte defences, a pink light drew the attention of every fighter there.

"Impossible!" Gothica whispered.

Blink walked out of the light, with the rest of the fully prepared X-men team assembled to fight. The last to step out as the light faded was Aeon, merged with Albion. Aeon still had his gauntlets and helmet, but the armour was a gold and brown colour, with long blonde hair sticking out of the back of his bigger and sharper helmet, with a star shaped visor. A glowing golden sword shined in his hand as he looked to Gothica.

**"_We're here to stop you Gothica!"_**

There was no banter or threats; there was only a group of heroes leaping into a final battle.

Next Chapter 15: Battle against darkness

* * *

Hope Everyone enjoyed the chapter, next its battles on Utopia and still in Westchester while James Crowner is faced with the realisation of what Magneto is bringing back.

And yet another profile

_"If you keep on giving people second chances and keep on beating them down when they make the wrong choices, then they'll eventually make the right choice...right?"_

_Kyle Summers_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Red Condor_

_Armour Colour: Red_

_Power: Creation of energy pillars, concussive blasts fired from hands, flight and agility, Weakness: Brittle wings, no aggression in fighting style_


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 15: Battle against the darkness

Proteus was an enemy of the X-men that could completely reshape the world with a single thought. But he was still bound by restrictions in his powers as well as psychological fears. And the limits of his powers were ones the X-men would make perfect use of. Utilising the skin of Colossus, Rogue ran through the crowds of zombies, Proteus's energy rebounding off her armour. She then used Cyclops's eyes to deliver a powerful optic blast to Gothica's chest, knocking him and Proteus back. The combined form of Aeon and Albion then moved in and slashed Gothica across the chest. Gothica stepped back, the cut on his chest sealing itself before he shook the ground, creating a pillar that sent Aeon flying into the air.

"_**I knew this wouldn't be that easy!" **_Aeon said as he fell towards the ground.

Wolverine yelled as he slashed through the army of zombies. Nightcrawler teleported, kicking one zombie and then throwing another into the air, he then teleported behind James and moved him out of the way of Siryn's scream. Cyclops fired his optic blast at Mammomax, knocking him into Gothica.

"Pests!" Gothica growled.

Colossus slammed two zombies together and Hellfire burnt five other's to atoms. Azure Eagle jumped over Random and Senyaka, carrying Sieg over his shoulder. He swung around, shooting multiple crossbow bolts at the villains. Projector punched a group of zombie's aside whilst Speed blew two up. Scarlet Witch launched her hex bolts, turning the ground beneath the approaching zombies into sand, slowing their advance. Rachel and Jean then began throwing back the zombies.

"We need to get the sacrifices before we do anything else!" Nate said.

"Leave that to me!" Mimic said.

His eyes glowed red, metal covered his body and metal claws burst out of his knuckles. He used Nate's telekinesis to launch himself into the crowds of zombies, slashing and shooting anyone that got in his way. Calvin flew towards the chained sacrifices with Blink and Exodus at his side. With a yell he fired his optic blast, hitting Hellion's telekinetic field. Blink threw her spears, teleporting a group of zombies away. Exodus flew upwards, dodging Senyaka's whip. Blink then back flipped away from Senyaka as he lashed out at her.

"Unhand those mutants Senyaka!" Exodus commanded.

"You think I fear you Exodus, death is nothing to me now" Senyaka said.

"We've had our taste of hell, basically nothing you do scares us anymore" Hellion said, firing a telekinetic blast at Mimic.

"Oh yeah!" Mimic growled, deflecting the blast with his own TK.

Aeon flew at Gothica, swinging his sword at the man. But Gothica created a spear, blocking the strike, and then stabbing the blade into Aeon's shoulder. Colossus grabbed Wolverine and then threw him towards Gothica's back. Logan dragged his blades across Gothica's back, causing him to yell out in agony.

"**AAAAAGH! THE METAL! THE METAL'S TOO MUCH!" **Proteus screamed.

"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR THAT! Gothica yelled.

"Just shut up!" Wolverine growled, slashing Gothica across the chest.

He then slashed Gothica horizontally across the shoulder, cutting off the mans arm. Ramming his blade into Gothica's chest, Wolverine then ripped off part of the mans chest.

"How dare you, I'm a god compared to you"

"Heard it all before bub!"

Gothica growled, his face cracking before he threw Wolverine aside. With a single thought he created a pillar from the rocks, standing atop the pillar and blocking any route upwards with a series of spikes. He waved his cloak around, looking at the X-men and the Acolytes as they continued to fight on.

"They're, they're idiots…YOU FOOLS ARE GOING TO DIE!" Gothica screamed.

* * *

The darkness was gone but the threat in Westchester was far from over. Cable looked out of the window, taking aim with his rifle as an army of un dead purifiers marched towards the station. There was also the imminent threat of the resurrected Xavier students. Flyers were already trying to claw their way through Cables barriers. Across town the X-men left behind began to get the survivors onto trucks in order to get them to the Initiative cordons. Angel flew two women down to Bobby's car while Hank had Pixie teleport a few of the wounded away. Doug was on communications, speaking with Val Cooper and Colonel Rayes.

"Despite the situation we've got more survivors then we originally hoped for, but there's still the issue of the remaining un dead, plus Xavier and all the other telepaths can feel some kind of strange psionic signal at the mansion" Doug explained.

"Sorry Mr…Ramsey right? Where is Xavier?" The Colonel asked.

"He's going to the mansion with Miss Frost and a few others"

"Mr Ramsey tell your team mates to hurry up, we want those civilians out of Salem Centre by sunup then we can move our troops in to clear out Gothica's men" Valeria Cooper said.

"We've got two hours then, all right Cypher out"

Doug switched the communicator's frequency to the one Hank had given him for Crowner industries. He bought up the image of one of James's assistant robots, with grey armour and a face design similar to Aeon's helmet.

"Ah Hello X-man, how may I help you?" The android asked.

"Hey get out of the way, let me talk to Molly you stupid piece of junk!" A voice growled over the radio.

The android was suddenly pushed aside to reveal Chase Stein, wearing a white lab coat with new X ray goggles around his neck.

"Hey…I don't know who you are and I don't really care…anyway I heard about the literal blackout in that area, are Molly and Klara all right?" Chase asked.

"Molly and Klara…oh yeah those two girls, yeah they're better than all right, they've really helped us out here" Doug said, causing Chase to sigh with relief.

"I've been trying to get there but Gloria remote controlled the Ultimatum into picking up some C-listers to help you guys, anyway James isn't here right now and don't even bother asking where cause I don't know, last thing he said to me was two things, one Gloria's apparently alive but that sounds impossible and two he's stopping the rest of the world from seeing some bullet that's in space" Chase explained.

"Bullet…I'm sorry I don't really understand what's going on" Doug said.

"Have you been buried for the last few years?" Chase asked.

Doug smiled sheepishly as Roberto and Sam burst into laughter. Elsewhere, Xavier approached the mansion with the Stepford Cuckoos, Psylocke, Juggernaut and Northstar and Aurora.

"Professor are you sure this is a good idea?" Psylocke asked.

"Elizabeth, you and I both know that whatever's in the subbasement could possibly sabotage the only means we have of tracking new mutant births, we need to get rid of it" Xavier explained.

"No I mean bringing Marko and Frost with us"

"I've already seen inside Emma's mind Elizabeth, you should ask her permission to see what had been done to her before Karabai's invasion, it isn't a pleasant sight, as for Cain…he has to settle his past eventually" Xavier said solemnly.

Cain widened his eyes, looking at the one that was blocking their path. Sammy was still so small, and still infected with the virus keeping him from passing on. The Juggernaut was the first to walk forward, slowly and regretfully.

"Your never going to stop what lord Gothica created Professor!" Sammy snapped.

"That will not stop us from trying Sam, know that whatever happens today that both Cain and I mourned your death" Xavier said before he walked past Sammy.

Marko stayed behind as the others walked forward, his gaze was fixed on Sammy. He looked at the boy, remembering the happy memories and regret filled his eyes as he remembered the boy's final memory, of him as a traitor. Despite the regret in his eyes, Sammy looked at him with nothing but disgust. Cain removed his helmet. Placing it on the grass and kneeling in front of Sammy

"There were things you didn't understand from that day Sammy, things you didn't get to see" Cain began.

Sammy smacked Cain across the face, his knuckles cracking from the punch. Despite the pain he hit the man again.

"You're pathetic, you have your chances to change and you don't use them" Sammy growled.

"That day I wasn't going to betray the X-men, rather I was going to betray the Brotherhood, I didn't kill that Nocturne girl or even the men that murdered you" Cain explained.

"Your lying, you'd say anything to stop this wouldn't you!" Sammy spat.

"Sammy look at me, there's now lies, no tricks it's just me and you talking here…you remember my face don't you, you remember the horror across my face, that's not the look of a traitor, I admit I did some bad things after you died, I tried to change but it just became pointless without a friend like you...I'm sorry kid, I agree I've had too many second chances, whether you forgive me or not I'm giving you yours" Cain said with a smile as he reached behind his back.

* * *

Xavier and his group climbed down the elevator shaft leading to the subbasement. No one was there to stop them as they approached Cerebra. Northstar and Aurora forced the door open, widening their eyes as they saw what had been done to Cerebra. Gone was the metallic dome, replaced by ravaged metal with a dark globe replacing the control panel. Frost turned her skin to its diamond form whilst Psylocke materialised her TK katana. The darkness stretched, revealing the ravaged blonde hair and dark clawed arms of another member of the Undead. Her clothes had been torn and cuts ran across her face, but the resemblance was uncanny. Everyone knew who she was, but the ones who should have given some kind of emotional reaction were hollow and uncaring.

"Sophie!" Emma said in shock.

"Hello mommy!" Sophie Cuckoo said with a twisted grin.

* * *

The fight was far from over; Utopia wasn't the only place at stake. Michael Pointer flew across the sky, dodging blasts fired by Guardian and Vindicator. He threw himself to the left, dodging a blast of geothermal energy fired by Heather Hudson. Swinging around, he fired two blasts from his hand, blowing holes through both his targets. They fell from the sky and Michael flew after them, landing on a graveyard. His breathing was heavy as the energy left his body.

"Where do you think your going murderer?" A voice asked from behind him.

Michael swung around, just in time to be grabbed by a series of vines. Shaman sat in his meditative state, with the two Pucks either side of him. Guardian and Vindicator approached him, energy glowing in their hands. While Michael was left helpless, the X-men were picking up the pace in getting civilians out of Westchester. Rahne sniffed the air, growling, as she smelt Gothica's approaching dark generals and surviving undead forces. M readied herself, looking at the resurrected Everett. Jubilee however was left confused by the absence of Skin.

EVERYONE BRACE YOURSELVES!" Havok yelled as the Dark Cyclops fired his optic blast.

Havok took the blast, absorbing the energy and firing it back at the attackers. The Dark Wolverine jumped off the roof, dragging his claws across the ground and yelling like a madman. Rahne turned into her werewolf form with Magik drawing her soul sword and Beast jumping towards the feral mutant. Storm and Angel took flight to face their counterparts. Warren grinded his teeth together as the dark and silver version of his death form replaced his suit. He lashed out at the Dark Angel with his silver wing, slicing the man across the chest.

"Hold the line!" Ink said, brandishing his sickness tattoo.

Molly jumped over the mad Dark Beast, whilst Gambit threw a car into the man's face. The Dark Rogue ran forward, smiling as she leapt at Gabriel. However, Polaris fired a magnetic blast at the Rogue, knocking her back. The Dark Colossus swung a fist towards Sunspot, who blocked the blow with his palms. Cannonball slammed into the Colossus, knocking him back. Shatterstar swung his swords around, cutting apart the knives thrown by Longshot. Iceman fired an ice blast at Feral, who ran to the side. She and Omega Red jumped towards Iceman, but a blast from Gabriel knocked them back.

"PIXIE GET THE CIVILIANS OUT NOW! ICEMAN PUT UP A WALL TO BLOCK THEIR PATH! EVERYONE ELSE STRIKE BACK!" Havok yelled, locking his arms with the Dark Cyclops.

Synch fired an optic blast at Chamber, who blocked it with his own energy. Husk ripped off a layer of skin, turning her flesh into pure energy. She hit Synch head on, widening her eyes as he recovered by changing his skin into a similar energy. Paige then ripped off another layer, turning her skin into diamond and punching Synch back. He grinned, his skin returning to normal without any sign of bruising.

"We'll have the change our tactics" Chamber said.

"No kidding" Jubilee commented, adjusting her Wondra gauntlets.

"You idiots, I'm the most powerful mutant in the world, I can absorb and use any mutants abilities so YOU DON'T STAND A CHANCE!" Synch yelled.

He drew Wolverine's bone claws, switching them to a diamond material. With a swing of his arm he cut Chamber across the chest. But Jono countered with an energy blast into Everett's chest. Synch quickly recovered, throwing a series of shrapnel at Husk.

"PAIGE!" Jubilee yelled as he friends diamond form cracked.

"Don't worry I'll try something else" Husk said, calmly changing her skin into silver.

The Dark Beast swung his fist at Molly, who rolled to the side, smiling as the dark furred man growled.

"The diamond parts on your skin look like your ripping someone off, maybe you should have given yourselves hooves as well" Molly said.

With a roar, the Dark Beast swung his diamond knuckle at Molly. But the girl merely sidestepped the strike, slamming her own fist into the beast's face. Hank jumped over the Dark Wolverine while Wolfsbane slashed the man across the throat. But the Wolverine recovered, slashing at the girl. Magik swung her sword at her opponent, clashing it with his claws. Lightning and whirlwinds flew through the sky as the two Storms tried to overcome one another. Ororo fired a maelstrom from her hand, hitting her dark counterpart in the chest.

"Everybody get ready, I cant keep them out anymore" Cable said as he loaded his rifle.

"All right, time to kick ass!" Deadpool said, drawing his swords.

"Here it goes!" Driver took a deep breath as his armour covered his body.

He crouched, and then launched him like any Olympic level runner would. But unlike the Olympics, Driver ran faster than anyone could see. He slammed into the crowds of purifier's, throwing them back like he was a truck. Slamming his foot into the ground to stop himself, Driver then looked to the flyers. His arms moved in circles, creating two vortexes' that knocked the flying mutants of their flight path. Cable and Domino moved at the front of the police forces, firing their guns at the mutants and Purifier's. Hesitantly the other younger X-men rushed out. Anole jumped into Rubbermaid and Indra slammed his fist into Wolf cub.

"Wait, this isn't right, you shouldn't be fighting your friends" Dryad said.

Loa swam through Dryad's vines, breaking them to pieces as she approached Dryad. Armour grabbed Wing and slammed him against the wall.

"You guys are our friends, but we also understand that right now your just prisoners, prisoners that need to be set free!" Loa said before she jumped at Dryad.

She passed her hand through Dryad's chest, not breaking apart her organs but rather the virus that kept her alive. Dryad fell to the floor, smiling as she finally passed away. In Utopia, Magneto was still in his meditative trance as Scalp hunter and Azure Eagle shot the zombies surrounding him. Azure Eagle placed Sieg on the ground, creating another crossbow and firing at Siryn.

"We need to focus on Gothica, get rid of the underlings first!" Azure Eagle said.

"That wont be easy" Scalp Hunter said.

Gothica sharpened his cloak, using it to slash Aeon's shoulder. But Aeon quickly threw his sword into Gothica's chest while Cyclops fired a blast into the stone pillar. The pillar collapsed and Gothica fell to the ground. Aeon landed beside Cyclops, his armour glowing as he and Albion separated. Albion kept a hold of his sword while Aeon clutched a crack on his chest.

"Are you all right?" Cyclops asked.

"_**I'll be fine, we cant give Gothica a chance to really use his abilities"**_ Aeon said.

"Hit him from everywhere!" Albion said as he ran towards Gothica.

Nightcrawler teleported behind Gothica, punching the back of his head. Colossus then punched him across the face and straight into Wolverine's claws. Albion then threw his sword at Gothica, slicing off his right arm.

"I'LL DECIMATE YOU ALL!" Gothica yelled, bending the world around him.

Albion yelled as he felt his insides twists. Colossus two felt as if he was being torn apart. The ground beneath them came to life, throwing them back. Logan growled as he rushed through the energy generated by Gothica. His skin burned, revealing muscle and metal bone as he jumped towards Gothica. He slashed Gothica across the face, and then stabbed both his claws into the man's stomach.

"KILL THE SACRIFICES!" Gothica screamed.

Those chained to the wall screamed as they felt the black chains drain them. James moved as fast as he could, jumping over Icarus and Hellion. He slashed X-23's wrist, freeing her arm and allowing her slash her other chains. She jumped at Hellion, both of them rolling down the hill. Bishop fired multiple blasts at X-man, building up his energy and hatred.

"Just hold the line for as long as you can" Wanda said, knocking more zombies back.

Sieg got off the floor, watching as Scalp Hunter was thrown back by Siryn's scream. He looked to Gothica, impaled by the regenerating Wolverine.

"Gothica…GOTHICA WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER!" Sieg yelled at the man, materialising his sword.

Gothica looked at Sieg casually, his face beginning to flow off his head like sand.

"You'll have to be specific Sieg I've don't some terrible things to women" He said.

"Where's the real Laurie Collins body? Where did you put this realities Wallflower?" Sieg asked.

"You'd better answer him bub!" Logan growled.

"Sweating a little bit aren't we Wolverine?" Gothica grinned.

"I'll bleed it out of you!"

Wolverine pulled his hand out of Gothica's chest, slashing him again across the shoulder. He then slid open the man's legs, then stabbed him underneath the armpits. Gothica merely laughed as his face crumbled, revealing darkness and a set of glowing pink eyes.

"Are you done?" he asked.

"Not by a long shot bub!"

James ripped Dust off of the wall, rolling to the side to dodge Icarus's wing. Aeon ran to their aid, using a shield he created to block Icarus's wing blades. Mimic blasted Mystique's chains, then cut apart Senyaka's whip with his claws.

"Death is nothing to me anymore, my body is now immortal!" Senyaka declared, kicking Mimic to the ground.

Senyaka raised his hand, preparing to drain Mimic of his energy. Suddenly, Blink teleported Mimic away from the man. Senyaka growled, regenerating his whip and preparing to attack the escaping prisoners. He lashed out at Daken, but cursed as he felt something grab his foot. Neophyte held onto Senyaka's foot, phasing the mans leg into the ground. The Acolyte then phased back onto the surface by Mystique's side.

"You have invaded our home, killed your fellow mutants, you deserve death Senyaka!" Exodus growled, flying towards Senyaka.

"I do not fear death" Senyaka said as he swung his whip at the Acolyte leader.

Exodus batted Senyaka's whip aside with his telekinesis and grabbed Senyaka's head. He closed his eyes, reaching deep into Senyaka's mind. Psionic energy flowed out of Senyaka's eyes as he yelled out in agony.

"For your betrayal Senyaka though your heart may still beat your mind will NEVER THINK A SINGLE THOUGHT AGAIN!" Exodus yelled.

The Psionic and telekinetic explosion knocked the surrounding people back and Senyaka's body slumped to the floor. Mimic tried reaching into the man's mind and found Exodus's declaration to be true. Senyaka was now just a body without a brain.

"MY MUTANT BROTHERS STRIKE DOWN THE INVADERS!" Exodus yelled.

"There's just too many of them!" Scalp Hunter said, grunting as a bullet flew into his leg.

Scalp Hunter's rifle rolled across the ground. He punched one zombie away, growling as he grappled with another. Aeon shook his head as he got off the floor. Then he saw the zombie grappling with Scalp Hunter. He tried to access the powers in his left hand, but widened his eyes at the loss of his energy. Hellion fired a telekinetic blast into his back, knocking him across the dirt. Mimic then hit Hellion with an optic blast whilst Daken and X-23 sliced apart the zombies around them. Aeon looked at the rifle mere inches away from him and then at the struggling Scalp Hunter.

"_**Forgive me…I hate breaking my word"**_ Aeon said before he picked up the rifle.

With a click of the chamber and a pull of the trigger, Aeon sent a bullet flying into the side of the zombie's head. Scalp Hunter drew his pistol, shooting two other zombies. He and Aeon stood side by side, shooting any zombie that approached Magneto.

"_**What's Magneto doing?"**_ Aeon asked.

"Scarlet Witch says he's bringing something back, we don't know what exactly since we don't have any technology here besides weapons" Scalp Hunter said, firing dual pistols at his attackers.

Mystique kicked a zombie across the head then turned to Destiny.

"Irene!" She said.

Destiny grasped her head, stepping away from her former lover.

"Raven you must hurry or he'll kill everyone…first Wolverine!" Destiny whispered.

Wolverine once again slashed Gothica, the mans body began to crumble, replaced with dark energy.

"That was useless of you" Gothica chuckled.

"You've still got Proteus inside you, and Proteus hates metal!" Wolverine grinned before ramming his blade through Gothica's head.

The scream of agony drew everyone's attention away from his or her fights. Aeon widened his eyes as Gothica thrashed around, energy from Proteus pouring out of the holes Wolverine had made.

"**You bastard, I'll rip you apart!" **Proteus said.

Gothica waved his hand round, lifting Wolverine off the ground. Logan grinded his teeth together as his metal claws bent round.

"LOGAN!" Rachel yelled.

Wolverine began to growl while Gothica cackled.

"Proteus doesn't like the metal, no no no he doesn't like it one bit…fortunately I've taught him how to get rid of it!" Gothica said with a smile.

"No…SIEG GET LOGAN OUT OF THERE NOW!" Jean cried out.

Sieg took a step forward, but stopped and widened his eyes in utter horror. Wolverine yelled, blood gargling his cries as cuts ran down his wrists. Liquid metal oozed out of his body as he thrashed around in midair. Gothica laughed, moaning in pleasure from Wolverine's discomfort. Neophyte put a hand to his eyes while Exodus grinded his teeth together. Both Jean and Rachel had tears in their eyes as Logan's yells of agony and blood grew more fierce and intense. Warpath ran towards Gothica, throwing his daggers into his back. He jumped over the dark villain, catching Logan as he fell.

"Oh god not again!" Cyclops said.

Across the world at the Xavier subbasement the Professor said the same thing as he felt Wolverine's pain. A smile crossed Sophie's face before she sent a dark tentacle flying towards Xavier. It was too fast for any of the X-men to see at it piercing through the Professor's chest. He gasped, feeling the blade cut his spine. With a sigh he fell to the floor with Emma and Psylocke yelling his name out. He coughed weakly as the world began to darken.

"CHARLES!" Emma yelled.

Suddenly the ceiling shook as cracks ran across the room. Then a bulking figure as big as the Juggernaut crashed through the ceiling. Emma and the X-men all looked at the figure in shock while Xavier did his best to suppress a smile.

"You've done the right thing Cain…thank you for giving us what we need!" Xavier said.

His muscles had expanded, brown armour with an X shape on the chest had surrounding and the signature dome shaped helmet covered his face. But they could still see who he was; the orange skin and green eyes were any indication.

"I'm going…TO KILL YOU CUCKOO!" Sammy yelled.

* * *

James ran a hand through his hair, taking another sip of coffee as he adjusted his instruments. The massive computer he was using was currently having every program working at full speed to black out communications satellites. It would only be a temporary thing, just to keep Richards and Stark from seeing what was coming back. If there was any indication of what Magneto was bringing back then the X-men would lose the perfect weapon to use against Proteus.

'Come on, work faster' James thought, tapping at the controls for his regeneration chamber.

He needed to alter the tank that had been used for Crusader, alter it to repair human cells and not Skrulls. No doubt that woman had been changed from continued use of her powers, meaning her DNA would need to be reset back to its original composition before she flew into the bullet. James rubbed his eyes, but he never stopped working.

'Too many people have died today, we're not losing this one' James thought, trusting in the X-men and Aeon.

* * *

Jean and Rachel were with James at Wolverine's side, praying that the wounded man would be all right. Gothica cackled as he grew bigger, the silhouette of Proteus appearing over him. He stood over the buildings of Utopia, his form absorbing the grunt zombies. Looking down at his prey he smiled, ready to strike them again. Sieg looked at where Logan had been standing, his hands shaking as tears slid down his face.

"Logan…no, your not dying but…everyone else, there are so many people not being given second chances, but people like Gothica…they've had too many" He growled.

Aeon pulled out the empty clip of his rifle, offering it to Scalp Hunter to reload. While Scalp Hunter began to reload the homemade gun, Aeon turned his attention to Sieg. The young man's hands were shaking as he wiped away his tears, replacing them with eyes of outrage and vengeance.

"No more…No more…NOOO MOOOORE!" Sieg yelled out.

His sword shattered and the energy surging around him ripped off his shirt. The remains of the sword changed into a gauntlet on Sieg's left arm while black fabric covered his chest. Then red and dark navy armour plates began sliding across his legs and arms. A helmet covered his head, blades sticking out the back like Aeon's but much sharper and aggressive looking. His eyes glowed red as the navy blue armour covered his chest. But what materialised next in Sieg's hands was a weapon that put fear in Gothica's eyes. A blood red and black scythe!

"_**I SWEAR TO YOU GOTHICA! I SWEAR ON DEATHBLADE'S SPIRIT THAT YOU WONT LIVE BEYOND THE SUNRISE!" **_Sieg vowed before he flew straight towards Gothica.

Next Chapter 16: Purge

* * *

Next is the final battles and the arrival of the "bullet", what happened to Cain? is the Professor dead? well you'll just have to read to find out :)

And once again we present another profile

_I've been given a second chance, and I'm not going to waste it...I swear to you Sven I will never let you down again, I will fight for all my friends! _

_Lazlo Collins_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Albion_

_Armour colour: gold and brown_

_Power: Creation of energy blasts and blades, intensity based on current feelings of friendship around him, generation of light to counter darkness and some forms of mind control, Weakness: Could overload when too many feelings are charging him, may overcome weakness in future_

So see you all next time!


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men or the Avengers...or Kick Ass (just a smal reference and rant from our favourite Merc with a mouth :)

Enjoy :)

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Chapter 16: Purge

**Three minutes earlier**

Sammy, despite the virus flowing through his body looked at the Juggernaut in shock. Cain Marko held the cyttorak gem in the palm of his hand.

"Cain…what are you doing?" Sammy asked.

Juggernaut took a step towards Sammy, never stopping even as Sammy stepped back. That was Cain's first sign that somewhere inside Sammy was fighting the virus.

"Guys like me always get second chances and yet we do nothing but repeat the same mistakes, you were right about me Sammy, I had my chances and I wasted them but now you've got your chance to use this gem for something it's never been used for before, to protect something Sammy" Cain said fiercely.

The boy looked at the gem in Cain's hand and for a moment he reached to touch it. He suddenly threw his hand back, his face contorting with pain as the virus's influence on him began to fade for just a few minutes.

"No Cain, I cant, what'll happen to you?"

"Maybe I'll have gained some dignity and pride for once in my life…all's I know is that it'll have saved my friend" His words were solemn and his determined gaze never faded. "Take it Sammy, use it to save my stepbrother"

Hesitantly, Sammy grasped Cain's hand, a small tear falling down his face. The virus intensified, cracking his face. But despite the pain Sammy held onto the gem and looked Cain in the eye.

"Say the words Sammy…say them now" Cain said.

Sammy smiled, wrapping his arms around Cain and hugging him. He continued to hold on, even as he began to recite the words.

"Whosever touches this gem…will possess the power of the crimson bands of cyttorak…henceforth you who read these words shall become forever more…a human Juggernaut!"

The flash of light caused Sammy to widen his eyes, stepping back as the affects of the virus left his body. He yelled out as he felt his muscles expand and the armour replaced his clothing. Cain fell to the floor, grinding his teeth together as he felt the armour leave him as his body began to shrink. Sammy screamed, his eyes giving of a crimson glow as the helmet appeared over his head. Cain smiled as he watched Sammy yell out, the little boy now a giant comparable to the Hulk. The Squid Juggernaut lifted his hand, twisting it into a fist. He slammed his fists into the ground, causing the Cerebra chamber to shake. Again and again he struck the ground, breaking apart the Earth before he fell into the Cerebra chamber.

"I'm going…TO KILL YOU CUCKOO!" He yelled at the corrupted Sophie.

He jumped at the dark creature that had entrapped Sophie, slamming his fist into its side. She cried out in pain, firing a psionic blast at Sammy. But the telepathic wave rebounded off of the Juggernaut's helmet. Sammy punched the creature again; it's tentacles batting off of his armour. Overcoming their initial shock, Aurora and Northstar moved to aid the new Juggernaut. They linked their hands together, firing a blast at the creatures back. Sophie let out a pained moan as she turned to her attackers.

"Frost, stay here, I'll get the Professor to the top" Psylocke said, slowly lifting Xavier with her TK.

"Elizabeth don't bother, my spine is severed, help the others!" Xavier said weakly.

Again Sammy punched the creature, knocking it into one of the walls.

"Yet but I think the question is Professor, which one should I be helping?"

* * *

With Sieg's declaration of killing Gothica the X-men and Aeon watched in shock as Sieg flew straight towards Gothica. He swung his scythe back before slashing Gothica across the neck. The dark energy emanating from the wound wrapped around Sieg's hand. Like a wounded squid, the energy threw Sieg back, contorting in agony while panic spread across Gothica's face. Aeon punched the zombies blocking his path, upper cutting one and then kicking another. Nightcrawler teleported to Wanda's side and pushed her away from one of the mutant zombies. The bulking, clawed zombie growled at Nightcrawler before Albion cut it in half. Azure Eagle used one of his wings to block Siryn's sonic scream.

"YOU KILLED JAMIE!" She yelled.

"He was already dead, plus lets take a step back a bit and remember what happened to your child, you would have cast Jamie aside, despised him for something that wasn't in his control…STOP ME IF YOU THINK I'M WRONG!" Azure Eagle yelled, throwing seven feather blades at Siryn.

With one scream she shattered the blades and sent Azure Eagle flying backwards. Gothica threw a fist at Sieg, who slammed his scythe into the giant's knuckle. Grinding his teeth together, Gothica poured more dark energy from his wounds, the black tentacles wrapping themselves around Sieg's arm. Sieg moved his arm, growling as he felt his wrist twist. He broke his arm free, and then began slashing at the dark energy with his glowing red scythe.

"Idiots, Proteus's power has no boundaries now, he and I together are invincible!" Gothica said, bring the liquefied metal from Wolverine's bones to Sieg's level.

He waved his hand, solidifying the metal in a spike and launching it towards Sieg. The young man bought his scythe up, stopping the rocket like spike with the handle of his weapon. But the spike began to push Sieg back, cracking the handle of the scythe. Cyclops and X-man ran to Mimic's side, looking up at Gothica. Mimic and Cyclops fired their optic blasts while X-man unleashed a wave of plasma. The three energy beams slammed into Gothica's chest, knocking him backwards.

"I can't tell whether we're just pissing Gothica off or kicking his ass!" Warpath said, grinding his teeth together.

"LOGAN!" Rachel cried out as Wolverine regained consciousness.

"Damn it, I'll tell you girls nothing ever hurts you as much as it does the first time, but the second times still pretty painful" Wolverine grunted.

"Logan are you all right?" Jean asked.

"Well I'm in a state of pain one cant even begin to describe, I have a massive headache from all the yelling, the smell of these zombies is really stinging my nostrils and I've got several small holes on my body that are painfully healing…though on the plus side I've got two hot red heads caring for me and I feel a lot lighter, don't tell me that kind of thing happens in the Avengers!" Logan explained with a feral grin.

Jean and Rachel shook their heads with a smile as they helped Logan off of the floor. He stared at his hand, grinding his teeth together as he popped out his bone claws.

"HEY PETE!" Wolverine yelled at Colossus.

"What is it comrade!" Colossus said, punching a zombie across the face.

"Get me back into that fight!" Wolverine said, pointing his claws at Gothica and Sieg.

Magneto began top cough, grinding his teeth together more intensively as he bought the bullet closer and closer towards the Earth. Bishop fired a blast of energy at the Acolyte's, knocking them all back. Exodus held back another blast with his TK, a speck of blood coming out of his nose.

"Bishop's giving off more energy than usual, its like someone's constantly striking him" Cyclops said, bombarding Gothica again.

"Dark energy…Gothica's giving a small amount of Dark energy to Bishop every time he unleashes a blast, I can practically smell it" Lazlo said.

"Then we'll have to get Bishop out of here" Blink said as she readied a teleportation spear.

Bishop fired another blast, this time knocking Exodus into the wall of the shelters. Blink ran towards Bishop, teleporting upwards to dodge another blast. She flipped in midair, throwing the spear towards Bishop. Upon making contact with his skin, the pink energy covered him and with a blink, Clarice teleported the man away.

"_**BISHOP! BLINK WHERE DID YOU TAKE HIM!" **_Aeon yelled at Blink.

"Into space, where he wont hurt anyone"

"No, teleport him back, we don't resort to that kind of thing" Nightcrawler said.

"_**KURT LOOK OUT!"**_

Aeon shoved Kurt to the floor as a black tentacle struck his side. The tentacle wrapped itself around Aeon, lifting him off the floor. More and more darkness began to seep out of Gothica's wounds. Sieg bashed the metal spike away, breaking his scythe apart. He turned the handle into another scythe and flew at Gothica brandishing both his scythes. Spinning both scythes around, Sieg then threw them towards Gothica's eyes. Suddenly, pink energy shot out of Gothica's eyes, disintegrating the scythes and knocking Sieg out of the sky. He flipped in midair, landing on the ground and looking up at Gothica.

"**YOU FOOLS! NOTHING CAN DESTROY ME!" **Proteus yelled, his silhouette appearing over Gothica's dark energy form.

* * *

The X-men continued their fight in Westchester, trying to regain their homes. Archangel tackled his other self, slashing him across the chest with his wings. He yelled as he continued to slice apart the darker version of himself. While Warren gained the upper hand, Storm struggled, her powers over the elements equal to her darker self. She created a gust of wind that blew the Dark Storm's hair back. Upon looking at her other versions face, Ororo widened her eyes in shock. The woman had blood red eyes and fangs that reflected her lust for blood.

"Everyone be careful, they're much deadlier than we give them credit for!" Beast said, jumping over the Dark Wolverine's claws.

Magik blocked the Wolverine's strike, teleporting to Ink's side. Ink slapped his hand against Wolverine's head, activating his toxic tattoo. The Dark Wolverine yelled, slashing Ink's wrist and vomiting across the floor. Warlock wrapped himself around Doug, creating the battle suit they used in their youth. They fired their cannons, knocking back a trio of zombies. Berserker fired a stream of electricity at Cannonball, but Sam simply flew through the blast, slamming into Berserker. The explosion they created knocked some of the X-men and Undead back. Pixie flew downwards, landing on Pyro's back. She stabbed her soul blade through his gas tank and into his shoulder.

"NOW MEGGAN GET OUT OF THERE!" Dani yelled.

Pixie uttered the words for her teleportation spell, disappearing just as the gas tank blew up.

"Damn, they're all too much for us!" Iceman said, freezing Synch in his path.

But the powerhouse shattered the ice around him, firing a blast into Bobby's chest. M flew at her old boyfriend, punching him across the face. Synch recovered from the blow, kicking M across the cheek.

"Damn, we need more men!" Cable said, shooting at the Purifier's with Domino by his side.

Wing squeezed out of Armour's grip and Rubbermaid wrapped herself around Indra. DJ fired a blast than knocked back Loa, then shook the ground, sending Driver stumbling across the concrete.

"They've got us pinned down!" Domino said, reloading her pistol.

"_That's it, I'm going to do something that every comic fan should do but not try at home" _Deadpool said as he loaded his pistols.

"What's that Wade?" Cable asked.

_"Pull off impossible stunts that parody countless action and comic book movies whilst imagining the Purifier's are the writers of "Suck-Ass!", that's Kick-Ass for you guys that actually liked that crap!"_

Domino looked to Cable, who merely shrugged his shoulder as Deadpool ran into the fight.

_"INSERT GREAT FIGHTING MUSIC HERE!"_

Deadpool took two bullets to the chest and fired his pistols. The bullets flying from his pistols pierced the heads and chests of the Purifiers. He reloaded, throwing two magazines in the air and sliding them through the handles of the guns.

_"THIS IS FOR GIVING YOUR MAIN CHARACTER A STUPID NAME!"_

Jumping and spinning in midair, Deadpool again emptied the clips of his guns before throwing them at his targets. He landed, drawing his swords and running at the other Purifier's. They opened fire while Deadpool waved his swords around, deflecting the bullets and running into the middle of the Purifier's.

_"FOR GIVING THE CHARACTER A RETARDED BACK STORY!"_

He span on the spot, beheading and dismembering multiple opponents with his swords.

_"FOR GIVING NICHOLAS CAGE A RIP OFF BATMAN SUIT IN THE MOVIE!"_

Deadpool jumped in midair, causing two Purifier's to open their mouth's in astonishment before the swords were plunged through their chests. Throwing his bloodied swords aside, Deadpool then removed his belt, causing his allies to sigh in embarrassment as his pants fell down. He pulled the pin on one of the grenades attached to his belt and threw it towards the rest of the Purifier's.

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" Cable yelled.

The X-men and police jumped to the ground, putting their hands over their ears as the explosion consumed the Purifier's.

_"AND THAT WAS FOR MAKING AN ELEVEN YEAR OLD GIRL USE UNECCESARY BAD LANGUAGE! I HATE THE C WORD!"_

Turning to his allies, Deadpool grinned before pulling his pants up.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one who hated Kick-Ass!" Driver muttered.

"NOW PUSH BACK!" Cable yelled.

"Sorry DJ!" Anole said from behind DJ.

Anole grabbed DJ's head and neck. Both boys stood in place, fighting one another with everything they had. Wing tried to fly upwards, but Armour firmly held onto his leg. She slammed him into the ground, tears falling down her face as she raised her arms.

"Do it Hisako, free us!" Wing said weakly.

"I'm so sorry DJ!" Anole whispered.

"Just do what you've got to do" DJ said with a smirk as he turned on his CD player.

"This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars, is that really appropriate?" Anole asked with a chuckle.

"What can I say, it's one of the only songs I've really liked since coming back, can't say I've missed much"

"Goodbye Mark!"

With a twist of his arm, Anole broke Mark's neck, looking down at his old friend's body as it fell down. Armour slammed her fists into Wing multiple times, crushing his body and every bit of the virus inside him. While Indra held Rubbermaid in place, Loa jumped at her old squad mate, phasing her hand through her chest. She destroyed the virus, but without the virus to resurrect her Rubbermaid fell to the floor. Cable rubbed his eyes while the students offered one another what little comfort they could give to each other.

"Does anything work out just fine anymore?" Domino asked.

"Maybe…in this world we live in maybe they all will be back someday, but for now we accept their deaths and celebrate their lives" Cable said solemnly.

* * *

On Utopia, Aeon struggled under the grip of the dark tentacles. He looked up at Proteus and Gothica, his eyes glowing defiantly. With a yell he fired an optic blast into Gothica's head, knocking him back slightly. Proteus threw his hand forward, shattering the tentacle and cracking every inch of Aeon's armour.

"AEON!" Hellfire cried out, firing a blast of fire at Gothica.

The flames burnt at Gothica's form, causing him to shrink slightly.

"That's it, damage him more and more and eventually Proteus will have to abandon him" Cyclops said.

"Then we basically hit him with everything we've got then!" Wolverine grinned as Colossus grabbed his shoulders.

Colossus threw Wolverine, sending him flying towards Gothica. Like a bullet, Wolverine burst through Gothica's chest, his skin regenerating from the effects of the dark energy inside Gothica. Despite the ineffectiveness of his bone claws, the absence of the Adamantium boosted Wolverine's healing factor to incredible levels. He landed in the water and began swimming back to shore. When he reached the island, he wasn't alone, Namor and hundreds of other Atlantean's followed him as they attacked Gothica's legs.

"IMPERIUS REX!" Namor yelled, ripping off part of Gothica's skin.

The Atlantean's begun to rip at the skin on Gothica's legs, exposing his dark energy. Wolverine let out a yell as he hacked at Gothica's kneecap.

"You pests, nothing you do will make a difference to me!" Gothica growled.

He unleashed some more dark energy while Proteus manipulated the ground. Namor and his Atlantean's were thrown back from the force while Wolverine kept on hacking at the giant's legs.

"HELP WOLVERINE!" Exodus yelled, flying with the Acolytes and Speed to aid Wolverine.

Rogue touched Lazlo's exposed face, gasping as she felt the rush of his power. Green and white armour covered her body and light glowed in her hands.

"Damn, I feel incredible!" She said.

"Good to know, now lets kick some ass" Albion said.

"**You idiots, I can bend the very fabric of this reality" **Proteus said.

Mimic and X-man yelled as they felt their insides curl. The floor beneath Rachel and Jean came to life, wrapping itself around them like a snake. Warpath flew upwards as a series of spikes popped out of the ground. He flew at Proteus, slashing the being across the shoulder with his dagger. But Proteus fired an energy blast, hitting James in the back.

"_**RAAAGH GOTHICA!"**_ Sieg yelled, creating another Scythe and throwing it at Gothica.

But the scythe disappeared as soon as it touched Gothica's skin. Hellfire slashed at Gothica with her flaming talons, but screamed as the armour on her hands disappeared. Sieg growled, pink energy from Proteus shattering his helmet.

"Damn it, isn't there anything we can do?" Sieg asked.

"Just hold out, my father's bringing the perfect weapon to Earth" Wanda said.

"DAMN! HE'S GOING TO BREAK APART THE ISLAND ITSELF!" Exodus yelled.

The shelters began to break apart as Proteus and Gothica laughed. Exodus and his Acolytes were thrown back with the X-men and Atlanteans. Daken and Wolverine slashed at Gothica's ankles, finally bringing the giant to his knees. Siryn continued to bombard Azure Eagle with sonic waves, cracking parts of the island itself. Azure Eagle fell to his knees, the armour across his chest and eyes falling off. He breathed heavily, looking up at the woman so full of anger.

"We both failed Cassidy, you failed to protect your child and I failed to be a hero, now I'll just be the guy who does what needs to be done, even if sometimes people dont like the solution" Azure Eagle said solemnly as his hand began to glow.

"You killed Jamie!" Theresa growled.

"And now I've killed you!"

With a wave of his hand, Azure Eagle created another energy pillar. But Siryn flew backwards, dodging the energy blast. She grinded her teeth together, ready to unleash another scream. Suddenly, Azure Eagle flew through the pillar, brandishing his sword. He slashed at Siryn and landed on the ground behind her. Throwing his sword into the ground, Azure Eagle fell to his knees, smacking his fist against the dirt as tears fell down his eyes.

"Why the hell did things get so bad?" He asked.

Magneto coughed, groaning as he continued to pull the bullet closer towards the Earth. James Crowner sat in a minijet, wearing a grey and red version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. jumpsuits. Inside the back seat of the jet was the chamber he had created for the one inside the bullet. Gothica let out a blast of dark energy, throwing the X-men backwards. They rolled across the floor, with Warpath getting up and flying towards his target for another strike.

"**IDIOTS! THE WORLD IS MINE TO CONTROL!" **Proteus yelled.

Seven spiked pillars burst out of the ground. Warpath flew from left to right, dodging each spike. Suddenly, James's brother jumped from one of the pillars, grabbing James's neck.

"You're going to have to try much better than that brother" The original Thunderbird said.

"I know" James growled, kicking his brother's legs.

James dived at John, wrapping an arm around his neck from behind. They struggled, rolling across the floor.

"I'm not the same kid that you left behind all those years ago, I've done horrible things…things I'm not proud of!" James said.

"I know, but you only have one more to do" John said calmly.

"I love you brother!"

The crack of John's neck caught Gothica's attention. He smiled as James took a step forward, brandishing his knife.

"Your sorrow is so delicious!" Gothica groaned.

James narrowed his eyes before holding out his dagger. A mocking smile crept across Gothica's face whilst more cracks ran across Aeon's armour.

* * *

Michael Pointer struggled under the grip of Shaman's summoned vines. Guardian and Vindicator continued to charge their hands with energy whilst the two Pucks looked on. A defiant look crossed Michael's face as Guardian and Vindicator aimed the energy at him.

"Die murderer!" Hudson said.

"I don't think so James!" A voice said from behind Guardian.

Guardian turned around, widening his eyes as a giant clawed hand rushed towards him. The strike beheaded the undead man and a second swipe split Vindicator in half. Shaman and the Pucks looked to the shadows, gasping as Sasquatch walked with Talisman and Arachne beside him.

"Forgive me father!" Talisman said as she raised her glowing hands.

Multiple vines burst out of the ground, wrapping themselves around Shaman. Arachne grabbed the two Pucks with her psionic webbing, choking them while Sasquatch freed Michael.

"You guys came!" Michael said.

"We aren't the only ones, Brute bought with him a small group of Avengers" Sasquatch said.

Talisman closed her eyes; her father's body stopped its movements while Arachne let go of the now dead Pucks. In the streets of Westchester, the X-men continued to struggle with their other selves. Synch threw M to the ground, grinning as Chamber and Jubilee took a step towards him.

"There's nothing you can do to stop me guys, you'd best give up hope" Synch said.

The Dark Wolverine broke apart Shatterstar's sword and cut Rahne across the cheek. Havok and the Dark Cyclops breathed heavily as they punched one another again.

"We need to wrap this up quickly guys!" Havok said.

"Yeah you do!" Cyclops said, putting a finger to his visor.

Suddenly, a blue aura surrounded the Dark Cyclops, lifting him off the ground. He remained in midair for a moment before getting his head slammed against the floor. The ground suddenly shook, knocking several of the X-men down. They looked to where the shaking originated from, smiling as they looked upon Brute.

"Sorry I'm late guys, I bought some friends with me" Brute said with a smile.

Ms Marvel and Ultra girl flew headfirst into the zombie's hordes, throwing and punching them back. MVP beheaded one zombie with his shield, and then threw it upwards. The shield struck the vampire Storm's head, dazing her and giving Ororo the perfect opening. She created a vortex, hitting the vampire storm and throwing her straight through a building, burying her under piles of rubble.

"Idiots, it'll take a lot more than weaklings like you to kill me!" The Dark Wolverine growled.

"What about this weakling?" A voice asked inside Wolverine's ear.

Eric O'Grady threw his fist back before slamming it straight into the Dark Wolverine's eardrum. In fast and quick movements, he punched and kicked the eardrum over and over again before running out of Wolverine's ear. He grew back to his normal size to see Wolverine on his knees, groaning over his ears.

"NOW HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!" MVP yelled.

Ms Marvel fired an energy blast and Storm summoned a bolt of lightning. The energy attacks struck the Dark Wolverine, disintegrating the rubble around him and every inch of his metal skeleton. MVP then ran towards the Dark Beast, jumping over his claw swipe. The Real Beast slammed his fist into his dark counterpart, and then MVP struck the feral beast across the back of the head with his shield. Iceman created an ice dome around Megan and Captain Britain, protecting them from an ice blast fired by his other self.

"It takes a lot more than that to stop me!" The Dark Iceman said.

Suddenly, a pillar of fire consumed the Dark Iceman. Sunfire landed on the ground, adding to the fire and melting the dark Iceman.

"Or it takes a lot less!" Sunfire muttered.

Dark Colossus punched Butterball, growling in frustration, as his punch did nothing to affect the young cadet. Brute then punched Colossus from behind.

"YOU NOT AS STRONG AS REAL ONE!" Brute yelled, his feral side taking over.

Butterball put a hand to his mouth while Ant-man shuddered as Brute ripped the other Colossus in half. Warren stepped away from his dead counterpart, the steel around his wings shattering and his costume disappearing. Synch laughed as Havok, Chamber, Kid Vulcan, Thunderbird and Dazzler blasted him with energy.

"IDIOTS I'M INVINCIBLE! I'LL JUST ABSORB YOUR HITS WITH BISHOP'S POWERS!" Synch yelled.

"You're the idiot Everett!" M said from behind Synch.

Synch blinked in confusion as M grabbed him from behind.

"Bishop is a bomb, if he doesn't unleash his energy then it'll blow him up, I love you Everett, even now I'm still so proud of you!" Monet said, allowing a small tear to form on her eye.

"Then finish it Monet, I don't think I can hold it much longer" Everett groaned.

"Goodbye!" Monet said before throwing Everett into the air.

Justice hit Synch with a telekinetic blast, throwing him further into the air. The resulting explosion blew the clouds back and knocked the X-men back. Monet hugged her arms, he old Generation X team mates walking to her side, comforting her and mourning for their lost friends.

* * *

On Utopia, Warpath took a deep breath before throwing his Dagger. The blade span in midair, flying straight into Gothica's chest, the villain laughed at the effort to harm him. But Gothica's confidence was quickly replaced by shock as he heard Proteus scream.

"**AAAAAAGH! VIBRANIUM! A VIBRANIUM KNIFE!" **Proteus yelled.

James Crowner smirked as he began to land the minijet. He flew out of the cockpit, lifting the chamber with an energy field.

"What the hell is that for?" Wolverine asked.

"An old friend" James said with a smirk.

"_**It's coming!" **_Aeon said.

In the mansion, Xavier smiled as he felt the panic in his old student's mind. But he knew that despite how much had been lost and how many had been wounded by the events of today he knew that everything would be all right. Xavier groaned in pain as he was lifted off the floor. Cain Marko, now a tall and only slightly buff man wrapped his stepbrother's arm over his shoulder.

"Cain, are you all right?" Xavier asked.

"Seeing you all crippled up and Sammy kicking Emma Frost old student's ass, hell that makes my day Charles!" Cain said with a smirk.

Sammy slammed the shadow creature against the wall, and then threw it into the light of the twin's energy blasts. Psylocke jumped onto the creature's back, driving her Psi-blade into Sophie's head. Emma Frost and the Cuckoos then put their hands to their heads, hitting Sophie with a psionic blast. The pressure from the attacks caused Sophie to let out an agonising scream.

"Sophie!" Celeste said.

"Sister!" The Cuckoos said together.

Emma looked to her three students, widening her eyes as she saw the looks of shock on their faces. They had never portrayed sadness and sorrow since Karabai's attack. Sophia smiled as the dark energy began to fade.

"Thank you everyone" She said before closing her eyes peacefully.

The three Cuckoos walked over to their sister, kneeling at her side as she peacefully passed. On Utopia, Proteus continued to scream and thrash around while Gothica shrunk. Gothica's ski returned to normal as he held onto the blade pierced through his chest. The glow of Proteus's power left his eyes as he turned to Aeon.

"_**All these things that you've done Gothica! You've gone too far this time!" **_Aeon said.

"I've risen above what I once was, this time next year I'll have my own kingdom and unlike Selene my presence in the hearts of the X-men and the people will live on way after my death, because the one thing you can't defeat is fear itself" Gothica said.

Aeon closed his eyes, and then yelled out as his armour shattered, revealing his cloth like second skin. The energy wings burst out of his back, lighting up the night as the rest of the X-men began to arrive via teleportation.

_"**Your right, fear isn't something you can defeat, its something you overcome WITH COURAGE!" **_

With those words, Aeon pulled his fist back and threw it towards Gothica. The fist slammed into Gothica's head, sending him flying back away from Aeon and the X-men. He looked towards the X-men, his look of shock bringing smiles to their faces. But then the smiles were replaced with shocked expressions. Gothica looked up, joining the X-men in their shocked stare.

"No way!" He said.

Proteus groaned in pain before he looked up at the object flying towards him. He widened his eyes in total shock. Magneto yelled as he shrank the bullet down, focusing on Kitty as he let the bullet fly towards Proteus.

"**Idiots, you think I cant stop metal now!" **Proteus said, aiming the palm of his hand at the bullet.

But nothing happened, the bullet continued to fly towards him.

"**NO! IMPOSSIBLE! WE HAD VICTORY RIGHT IN OUR HANDS HOW COULD THIS AAAAAGH!"**

The agony of both Magneto's and Proteus's screams echoed in the ears of the X-men as the bullet containing their friend slammed into Proteus. Both Proteus and the bullet were consumed in a magnificent explosion that lit up the night of the skies. Mutant, human and Atlantean looked at the magnificent sight before them as a curled up woman was flown through the flames. The X-men all gasped in a mixture of astonishment and relief as Kitty Pryde, their long lost heroic team mate was set on the ground by Magneto.

"Du Bist Tsu Dar, Tzatzkeleh!" Magneto muttered before passing out into Azure Eagle's arms.

The young man looked at the former villain with grudging admiration, looking to the X-men as they crowded around the confused Kitty.

"There you are precious!" Azure repeated Magneto's last words. "Have we got a doctor anywhere?"

"Excuse me, coming through, really sorry about this Peter" James said, trapping Kitty in an energy field.

"James what are you doing?" Piotr asked, changing into his metal form.

"You guys can make out at the after party right now we've got to treat Kitty, wont bore you with the details but phasing a bullet through planets can really do a lot to you, especially if your doing it for a year" James explained as he put Kitty into the chamber and got to work. "BUt dont worry, everything's going to be fine" he said with a smile.

"_**She rode that bullet through space, through countless planets, saving not just her own home but many others!" **_Aeon said, staring at the girl as the energy of his wings faded.

While the X-men marvelled at Kitty's return, Gothica used this opportunity to teleport away. Piotr pressed his hand against the glass of the chamber, smiling at Kitty, a smile she returned.

"_**That sacrifice she made, that incredible Heroism…I…I don't even have words to describe it!" **_Aeon said, wiping away tears in his eyes.

Most of the men shook their heads while the women smiled at the young mans sensitivity.

"But what happens now?" Sieg asked.

Lazlo shook his head as his armour shattered.

"Well what else do you do when a friend comes home? Didn't you guys have a party waiting at home?" He asked with a grin.

Next Final Chapter: Wake

* * *

The Battle if over and the after party begins, the X-men and few other guests celebrate the lives of the fallen and reunite with old friends, if anyone's worried about Gothica the dont worry, he's getting a final taste of his worst fear next chapter :)

Also sorry if I havent gotten the phrase Magneto used right, I read it from Uncanny X-men 522 (anyone whose read it knows what I'm talking about) and it's been hard to find translations. Anyway hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, please tell me what you thought of it.

And now some more OC's for True Heroism:

_"We are the generals of the darkness, our Purpose is to kill!"_

_Daniel Raynes_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Retainer_

_Armour Colour: Pale white_

_Power: Creation of energy barriers, flight and enhanced strength, Weakness: No apparent weakness, though definate mental instability_

_"Your eyes are so lovely, I want to see what they look like when I pierce your heart" _

_Gabriella Williams_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Deathrose_

_Armour Colour: Violet_

_Power: Can see people's darkest desires and then bring them to life, skill with blades, Weakness: Definate insanity, visions of people's desires could overcome her_

_"I want revenge on everyone, I dont care what you call me, everyone will understand my pain!"_

_Thomas Collins_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Agony/Wrath_

_Armour colour: Red and Gold_

_Power: Super strength, creation of energy blasts from mouth, absorption of kinetic forces, weaknesses: Definate insanity, constantly in a state of pain, may becoem overwhelmed when absorbing too much kinetic force_

That's that, so until next time bye all!


	17. Final Chapter

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Rise of the Dead

Final Chapter: Wake

Though the X-men had lost more than they could have hoped for, they had also gained something back from the incredible experience. James Proudstar placed the coffins of his dead tribesmen and brother into the truck he would be taking back home.

"Are you sure you don't want to spend some more time with us James?" Logan asked.

"Maybe I'll come back, after all your gonna actually need a good blade" James said, smirking as Logan growled. "I'm fine…despite all that happened it reminded me why I loved my brother, and why I must choose to honour him by fighting on"

James shook Wolverine's hand, both giving one another nods of respect before parting ways. The young Proudstar smiled as he passed a statue that the younger X-men were making. It had a transcription on its stand, one that summarised John in both life and death, it read:

"_To John Proudstar, forever proud to be an apache!"_

A smile crossed James's face as he drove into the night. Logan walked back to the doorway of the mansion. The doorway suddenly lit up, glowing with pink energy.

"Okay kids, time to go back with the others, we've already buried our dead…now its time to honour them" Logan said solemnly as he walked into Ariel's doorway.

They arrived at the new celebration, everyone dressed in their uniforms and standing around a table. Everyone who had been and X-men or had even been affiliated with the X-men sat around the table. Xavier was wearing a business suit, sitting in a wheelchair with a blanket over his legs. He raised his glass of wine while the other guests raised their drinks.

"Here we go again…we are gathered here today not only to celebrate many years of success and learning but to also honour those we have lost…the children, the friends and even old enemies whom sought redemption…yet we also celebrate what we have gained from our experiences, knowledge, new friends and the return of old friends" Xavier explained.

"That's our cue Kitty!" James Crowner said, stepping out from the doorway.

Piotr and the other X-men looked to the doorway, smiles crossing their faces. Kitty stepped nervously out of the shadows, wearing a cleaner uniform. A small tear fell down her face as she walked towards Colossus.

"Hey!" She said nervously.

"Katya!" Piotr cried out before hugging the woman.

The two of them embraced and kissed one another, bringing smiles and smirks to everyone in the room. Xavier raised his glass before he sipped the wine. With that signal, the X-men dispersed, speaking and laughing about old times.

"And the looks on their faces when I walk onto the dance floor, arms linked with of all people Skin, damn we laughed about it after the crap with Emplate" Monet said, sitting with her old Generation X team mates as well as Butterball and Antman.

"You should have seen Everett's face, I thought he was gonna Hulk out on Espinosa!" Chamber said, an arm wrapped around Paige's waist.

Jean was dressed in her Fifth X-men costume, while Cyclops was dressed in his black and gold suit. They were the first on the dance floor, embracing one another and moving to the floor of the music. Kitty and Piotr walked to their friends, with Kitty hugging everyone she had left behind.

"It's good to see you again Ororo" Kitty said, hugging the woman that had been like a sister to her.

"I'm glad we've finally had time to settle down and enjoy ourselves, now that things are safe there's something I need to tell all of your" Ororo said, returning Kitty's hug.

"What is it?" Kurt asked.

"Everyone…I'm pregnant!"

The room went silent, with Deadpool spitting his drink onto the back of Wolverine's head. Everyone crowded around Ororo, patting her on the shoulder and hugging her. The party continued, with Kitty and Piotr taking to the dance floor, followed by Warren and Betsy and Brian and Meggan. Rick and Lazlo walked through the crowds of partygoers, both wearing casual clothing and carrying beers.

"Anyone tired of the wine crap?" Lazlo asked.

"Hit me!" Logan said.

Lazlo pulled out a beer and threw it to Logan. Rick then threw beers to Bobby, Hank, Sam and Pete Wisdom.

"Thanks for all the help Rick, Lazlo, didn't think you'd be much in a fight if I'm being honest" Logan said, drinking half the beer in one gulp.

"Yeah well if I'll be honest I'd think I'd rather spend the night with someone prettier, and without the sweating smell" Lazlo said as he began to walk away.

"What ever happened to your bros before hoes rule?" Rick asked.

"Not tonight!" Lazlo waved as he walked to where Dazzler was standing.

He extended his hand in a bow, causing Rachel and Dani to giggle. Alison took the mans hand with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck. They span around, both lighting up the dance floor. She leant back, holding onto his neck as he held her thigh, resting his forehead against her neck. Rick shook his head before tapping his beer bottle against his new friends.

"A toast then, to getting over the death of siblings!" He said.

"To our sons…I'll drag him back one day!" Logan muttered.

"What ever happened to that Azure Eagle bloke?" Wisdom asked.

"Oh Kyle…well he's not really one for parties anymore, I suppose he went back to the wilderness for recovering or back to the streets for his work, I hoped he would stay here and celebrate but I suppose its too much to ask" Rick explained.

"You and he were close once right?" Bobby asked.

"Best friends…to me he still is at least, who knows maybe we'll make up for our mistakes" Rick said with a smile before gulping down his beer. "Now, anyone know any good drinking games?" he asked, causing Logan to grin and the others to stop their drinking.

Xavier sat with Emma and the Cuckoos, all five of them communicating with their telepathy.

"**We have our emotions back Professor, our hearts are no longer trapped in the darkness" **The Cuckoos said together.

"**That's good, now Emma, there's something you and I need to discuss…but it can wait until after the party, don't worry about what anyone else says Emma, I know that prior to the invasion a month ago you were indeed possessed by a psychic entity" **The Professor explained.

"**It felt familiar Xavier, this thing is something we've dealt with before, that's why I want to assemble a team to track it, as well as eliminate the anti mutant soldiers still out there" **Emma said.

**"We will discuss this later Emma…right now just enjoy the party"**

Logan was on his Tenth beer, staring down Rick, alcohol dripping off their mouths.

"Is that it, that all you've got punk?" Logan asked.

"Have we started yet?" Rick slurred.

Cain Marko was sitting with Rogue and Gambit, gulping down a beer. He smiled casually as the ground shook slightly. The bulkier Sammy marched over to their table, half crushing the seat he took.

"So your back Sammy?" Rogue asked awkwardly.

"Yep and better than ever I'd say, but what's going to happen to you Cain?" Sammy asked.

"I'll take up a counselling job once Charles has repaired the mansion, get to all the potential super villains when they're young you know!" Cain said.

"That's good to hear Cain" said Rogue.

Deadpool span a disc in his hand, inserting into then player and smiling as a slower tune began to play. Noriko dragged David onto the dance floor. The couples dancing held one another softly, moving to the flow of the slow music.

"How long do you think this will last Scott?" Jean asked.

"I don't care, we've got everything we need, Hope is safe, some of our friends have returned and things are gradually improving" Scott said, stroking his wife's hair.

"And yet there are still issues we need to sort out, why do we have another version of Wallflower with us?" Jean wondered out loud.

"We'll figure it out eventually"

"It must be hard for her mother, I wonder how they're doing?"

"Sophia's with her, plus X-23 and Dust went to look for Sieg"

* * *

Far away from Westchester, Sieg walked into a warehouse, wearing a black jacket and cargo trousers. He lifted off his hood, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the two women waiting for him. Mystique was dressed in her usual white dress with her former lover Destiny beside her.

"Why did you ask me to come here Mystique?" Sieg asked fiercely.

"Irene wished to tell you of something, a vision she saw" Mystique said.

"What is it? Hurry up and tell me so that I can be on my way"

Destiny walked forward, stepping in front of Sieg. She lifted off her mask, revealing her white eyes to Sieg.

"The times ahead will be difficult for you and the people you will come to call friends Siegfried, events in the future will put your resolve to the ultimate test…you will be tempted by a woman considered to be true evil by those who have known her, the quest you are about to take part in will lead you to dark corners of this world and past lines you never thought humanity would cross, lines you never thought you could cross…I saw a battle, no battles fought between two pairs, two men fight to settle a rivalry, these eternal rivals will clash their power and ideals together, and I fear only one will survive…two other men will face one another, both heroes since they were you and both students to a wise master, one seeks to save the one whom is falling out of grace, he seeks to save you Sieg…remember that when you clash" Destiny explained.

"Clash…tell me something Destiny, which one of us will be the victor?" Sieg asked.

"I am sorry Sieg, but I'm afraid I can not see anything more, just know that the choices you make will determine not just your own future but the future of all those who will follow you, be careful" Destiny said.

"I don't need you to tell me that…I'm not going to worry about the future, I could care less about what's coming over the horizon, when it comes I'll be ready to fight as I always am, but right now at this moment I have more important things to worry about then what'll be happening in a year or two" Sieg declared, turning his back to the two women and walking out of the warehouse.

* * *

Elsewhere, James Crowner walked back into his office, widening his eyes as he saw Gloria sitting on the edge of his desk.

"Hi boss, did you have a good time on Utopia?" Gloria asked.

"I KNEW IT!" James yelled, lifting Gloria off the desk and hugging her tightly.

Gloria laughed, hugging James back. He let her down, blushing as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"That was for believing in me James, thank you…oh and Miss Hardy woke up, she had to go so she told me to leave you a message" Gloria explained with a smirk.

James blinked in confusion as Gloria pulled her hand back. Then realisation, or rather the palm of Gloria's hand hit him. The force of the blow swung his head back, leaving a red mark across his cheek.

"Not sure I deserved that!" James groaned.

* * *

Aeon stood in front of the graves of the fallen X-men and the buried students. He stood with his back straight, hands at his side. These men, women and children were the people he respected the most. He bowed to the graves, speaking his thanks for their sacrifices.

"_**May you never be forgotten!" **_he said.

* * *

Laurie sat with her mother; the atmosphere was silent after her revelation. She expected her mother to be angry, to scream and tell her to get out. Tears ran down the woman's face and Laurie took a deep breath, trying to control her pheromones as best she could, though it didn't affect her mother she at least wanted to keep everyone else down the road happy.

"So, my Laurie is still out there somewhere?" Miss Collins asked.

"Yes, I don't know what happened to her…and…I'm sorry for everything, for making you think that she was alive when she…"

"Don't Laurie, don't you dare start thinking like that!" Miss Collins snapped.

"But…"

"You are my daughter, being from a different world has nothing to do with the fact that you are my daughter, I still love you unconditionally"

Laurie wiped away her tears. This woman sitting before her was her mother; despite the differences in the realities this woman was still her mother. Miss Collins wrapped her arms around the girl, crying with her for all they had lost and what little they had gained.

The celebrations of life went on past midnight and the X-men slept in their motels. Across America, James Proudstar sat by the graves of his tribesmen, watching as their spirits bed him farewell. In the motel, Logan continued to drink beers, examining his bone claws. His room was drenched with the smell of alcohol and the amount of cans scattered across the floor was too much for Logan to have drunk back when he had the Adamantium.

'Still…would be good to get it back' He thought before moving onto his final beer for the night.

Next to his room, Pixie, Bling and Anole stayed up talking to one another about Onyx, the friend they had lost and the moments they had shared. Rahne prayed in her room, thanking her god for this second chance and promising to earn what she had been given. Scott and Jean stood over Hope's crib; both smiling while Scott rubbed his wife's belly.

"Why didn't you tell them?" He asked.

"With Rachel, Nate and Nathan in the room it would have been awkward, plus it would have stolen Ororo's thunder, pardon the pun" Jean smiled.

"I hope it's a boy!" Scott said.

"If it is we're not calling him Nathan or any variation of that name, it's bad enough having two of them" Jean giggled.

They widened their eyes as they heard a bang in the room next to them. Jean scanned the room with her powers, blushing as she detected the rather heated thoughts going on in Dazzler and Lazlo's room. Piotr and Kitty slept in their bed, holding one another and never wanting to let go.

The battles had been won again, but there was still work to be done. Sieg stood in the ruins of the mansion, wearing a black and red version of his costume. Standing with him were Dust and Sophia, with Michael Pointer dressed in his Guardian suit and X-23 dressed in her X-Force uniform.

"You're all wondering what happens next? Well here's what's going to happen, we're going to find the rest of those technorganic zombies, Icarus, Hellion, we'll either save them or put them to rest, then we find the villains that Gothica gave a second chance to and deal with them permanently…but before all that we're going to find out what happened to the real Laurie Collins, we'll find out who took her body, why they took it and then we'll make them pay…this is going to be our goal, from this moment your not X-men, your Avengers!" Sieg explained, telling them of their mission and their plans from that moment on.

* * *

It wasn't over yet, he still had plenty of other plans for this world. Gothica limped away from Westchester, too tired for another teleport. A smile crossed his face before he fell to his knees.

"It ain't over yet everyone…I'm gonna leave the X-men, no I'll leave this whole universe with enough tragedy to put the Dark Reign in the dust…a Heroic Age wont come in this world" Gothica cackled.

"_**Don't be so sure!"**_

The cold voice and the echo of the words bought a look of complete terror to Gothica's face. His lip trembled and his eyes widened. When he felt the scythe blade curl around his neck and press against his Adam's apple he let out a scream. His scream echoed down the highway, but no one would hear him.

"NO NO NO NO NO! NOT HERE! NOT NOW! THIS ISNT FAIR! HOW CAN YOU BE BACK AS WELLL!" Gothica screamed out.

**_"I always knew you'd die without a backbone…even Osborn held onto his dignity"_**

"What are you going to do Deathblade? Kill me? Why? SO WHAT IF I KILLED ONE INSIGNIFICANT BUG AFTER ANOTHER! EVEN THE X-MEN HAVE DONE QUESTIONABLE THINGS! DON'T YOU DARE THINK THAT THEY'RE THE VICTIMS! They abandon their friends, they betray one another, despise one another… they seek to bring about the return of a race that will only give humanity fear and hate! THEY'RE NOT BETTER THAN ME AND YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT!" Gothica explained hysterically, tears and snot falling down his face.

Deathblade huffed, bringing his obscured mouth towards Gothica's ear.

**_"The difference between you and me is that you sought to make this world worse, I seek improvement, justice…and to reach that goal I will make the sacrifices, I will kill those who get in my way and those that deserve execution, I will be the only one to do what is necessary to wipe away the scum and the corruption that plagues this planet, your neither a threat nor an asset to me Gothica…and quite frankly I think you've lived too long, meet me in hell!"_**

"NO…"

But his mouth was silenced when Deathblade twisted his scythe round. The blood dripped from the blade and Deathblade looked at Gothica's beheaded body. If he had a mouth he would have spat on the coward. His eyes drifted across the body, crossing over to the severed arm of Eli Bard, one still infected with the transmode virus. Deathblade put a hand to his chin, looking at the hand curiously. Then he shattered his scythe and put the arm in his coat pocket, lowering his hood in order to hide his armoured face.

_**"Soon, I will begin the hunt again!"**_

Not yet the end

* * *

Gothica learnt the hard way that all bad people get their come upance eventually, this was a scene I was looking forward to writing, in fact the sequal is one I'm looking forward to writing because it's all bout the Avengers and my OC Deathblade, two of my favourite things in combination with one another. Check out the sequal preview and please tell me what you thought of the story and what you think of the previews, thank you to everyone who reviewed.

Plus I leave you with another batch of profiles, and a more diverse cast of characters

_"Those three are generals of evil, we will be the generals of the light"_

_Alphonse Hussad_

_Codename/Armour mode: Akatsuki_

_Armour colour: White_

_Powers: Limited control of the wind, generation of sandstorms and illusions, lmited healing powers, Weakness: Healing pwoers can limit own life span, prolonging a life uses his own lifeforce_

_"I cant speak to god, alls I can do is pray and believe that my power can create a better future, better than the ones my grandparents sought"_

_David Fritz Lomax_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Redeemer_

_Armour Colour: Navy Blue_

_Powers: Tramsmutation of the ground to create spikes and pillars, psionically recreate images of a past event, Weakness: Weak when off the ground, can be easily goaded by insults on German stereotypes_

_"Everyone else is fighting, I'm not going to lt anyone die why I'm around"_

_Allisa Moon_

_Codename/Armour Mode: Lightwave_

_Powers; Creation of energy blasts, flight, hypnotic suggestion, physical and mental perfection, Weakness: Hypnotic abilities only work on men attracted to her, must not be wearing her armour in order to use_

The final two profiles will be up in the preview! Hope everyone enjoys it!


	18. The Sequal

Disclaimer; I dont own Marvel

This is the preview to my big epic saga, it'll have a main story in the Avengers section and tie ins in other sections, here's the preview enjoy :)

* * *

Trailer: The Hunt

**Two Months later**

_New York City is being reopened today with a parade dedicated to all public service workers that helped to repair our city. The president himself dedicated a speech at the White House to all the men and women that had died during the invasion three months ago. Famed Avenger Tony Stark also had a small monument built in Stamford's Camp Hammond while temporary commander of the Initiative defence forces Victoria Hand assures us that all villains and deserters that had been working under for Osborn are being kept in Prison 42. In other news we also prepare ourselves for the anniversary of Captain Stephen Rogers assassination and the trial of super villains Crossbones and Sin._

"_**People think the Avengers are there protectors but look at what they've done during Civil War and after the registration act"**_

The streets of New York was the place of a barbaric scene as parade members and the media looked up at the sign in times square. Peter Parker zoomed his camera in on the hung up bodies, focusing on the words written in their blood.

"_**It's time the world got tougher…IT'S TIME WE LET THE PUNISHMENT FIT THE CRIME!"**_

Nicholas Fury stood with his Avengers, Iron Man, Luke Cage, Wolverine, Ms Marvel, Quake, Hawkeye, Valkyrie, MVP, Ant-man and the Young Avengers.

"There's panic on the streets, someone's unleashed a whole gang of uncontrolled super humans, your job is to arrest these men and women by any means necessary…I'd rather not let Miss Hand use her Avengers for this so make sure you work hard and fast" Fury explained.

"_**So much corruption…people think they know what they want but they don't!"**_

A man in a black coat and hood ran through the corridors of the 42 prison complex. In the city explosions shook the buildings. Sentry flew out of a falling building, clutching his head as his eyes darkened. On the top of a building, Aeon looked at the carnage around him in complete horror.

"_**Oh no, this is all a decoy!" **_He said.

"_**Call me insane, label me as evil…but we all know that if you were a victim of crime then you'd be changing your tune…how dare you make psychos like Bullseye and Venom heroes, all the people suffering out there don't deserve protection, but I'm giving it to them anyway even if they don't like it"**_

The hooded man stood in the prison complex, hundreds of criminals and super villains surrounding him as he summoned his scythe.

"You picked the wrong room" Venom smirked.

"_**Idiots…I'm not locked in here with you"**_

He threw off his hood, revealing his black helmet and glowing red eyes.

"_**YOU LOCKED IN HERE WITH ME!"**_

* * *

Victoria Hand saluted the president, awaiting her orders.

"We don't have anyone else who can lead the pursuit of this vigilante Miss Hand, I want him bought in the right way, no plans or plots but the right way…we have to show this man that our methods work" The President explained.

Hand nodded her head, she already her own team of Avengers ready.

_**Deathblade vs. Wolverine!**_

Deathblade slammed his scythe into Wolverine's claws, sending him sliding back. Letting out a roar, Wolverine ran at his opponent, dragging his claws against the man's helmet. They locked their blades together, glaring at one another. Two men with similar ideals, but vastly different goals.

_**Deathblade vs. the Young Avengers**_

"_**None of you understand the world yet, none of you have had to take a life…you don't have the strength yet to have the luxury of being merciful!"**_ He said, firing an energy wave that cut the Vision down the middle.

"JONAS!" Cassie screamed.

_**Deathblade vs. Iron Man**_

Tony Stark wore his new Iron man armour as he flew into his opponent. He released the energy of his Uni-beam, and then fired a volley of missiles. Deathblade flew towards Iron Man, slashing the missiles apart and scraping his clawed hand against the man's helmet. He pulled off Iron Man's facemask, and then slid his wrist blade towards Tony's left eye.

_**Deathblade vs. Albion**_

"_**Did Aeon not have the courage to come and face me himself?" **_Deathblade asked.

"He still sees good in you Cade but me, well lets just say I'm not as forgiving as he is"

Albion summoned his armour and sword and ran straight towards his opponent.

* * *

"How in the world could he know about all our crimes? What proof does he have?" Moonstone asked, wearing her white and gold costume.

Sieg shook his head, sitting in front of Moonstone and Venom with no pity in his eyes.

"He can see every sin you've committed, you hid your crimes from the courts but there's no hiding it from him" He said.

* * *

"WHY SVEN! WHY STILL BELIEVE IN HIM! WHY WONT YOU JUST GIVE HIM WHAT HE WANTS!" Sieg yelled at Aeon, pushing him against the wall.

"_**Because unlike you I understand his reasons but I also believe that no matter how bad things get, no matter how much corruption fills this world there is still always hope, even for a man like Cade" **_Aeon explained.

* * *

He sat in the white void, looking at the young woman guiding him. She smiled, placing a comforting hand on his arm.

"Save him Sven…save the man you respect" She said.

"I will Laura…thank you!"

* * *

"_**CADE!" **_Aeon yelled as his armour cracked.

"_**SVEN REILLY!" **_Deathblade roared, light pouring out of the cracks in his armour. _**"Let us see whose ideal is stronger, YOURS OR MINE!"**_

* * *

_**Deathblade vs. the Sentry**_

Deathblade stepped back, his eyes glowing furiously as he looked at Robert Reynolds. Lindy Reynolds crawled backwards, looking at the two men in terror. Deathblade looked the Sentry in the eye, absolute hatred dripping from his voice.

"_**I will punish you for all that you've done!" **_He growled.

* * *

The city will become a battleground and the Hunt will be on. A team will hunt for a man, and the man will hunt for justice and a battle with his rival. And the rival will seek hope.

Aeon and Deathblade crashed into one another, cracks running across the final layer of their armour, their cloth like ultimate forms. Their hands locked and their energy wings flared before they roared, the armour across their faces falling off.

Ideals will clash and Hunts will be on in this epic tale of the Avengers!

Tie ins:

**Captain America: Rebirth of a dream:**** Michael Van Patrick copes with the mantle of Captain America, but what happens when Sharon Carter says he can bring him back, and is the ideal of Captain America still needed today? Who will wield the shield?**

**Azure Eagle and the Spider-man family: Hunt for the American Son: ****Someone is wearing the American Son armour, someone seeking to carry on Norman Osborn's work. Peter Parker copes with not just his family but the task of protecting some of his worst villains from Deathblade, while Azure Eagle struggles with a promise he made to the sister of a man he wishes to kill.**

**She-Hulk: The Hunt:**** Returning to her law firm, Jennifer Walters is tasked with defending a mother accused of assisting her husband in his criminal activities. But she must not only defend the mother from the courts, but also aid her Avenger comrades in the capture of Deathblade. What will he see when he looks at the mother?**

**Hulk: Incredible Hunt:**** The Hulk and Deathblade face the Red Hulk for a final battle. What will Bruce do when he discovers the Red Hulk's true identity?**

* * *

When will I begin this epic tale? Maybe after the summer of somewhere in the middle of August. I'll be doing my other comics fanfiction and my anime stuff. So until next time leave me a review and tell me what you thought of everything and once again thank you for the reviews.

The final two profiles:

**_"I see the sins that scum have committed, I'm not going to let any of them get away with their crimes!"_**

**_Cade Hunter_**

**_Armour mode/Codename: Ultimate/Deathblade_**

**_Powers: Creating of energy waves, deadly with any bladed weapon, highly skilled and adaptive martial artist, flight, can see the sins that people have committed, increase in strength when armour shatters, perfect defence of the mind, psychic attacks and probes will kill the psychic attempting them, has a link with the dead, Weakness: Can only use one energy wave every five minutes, At times the screaming souls of victims distracts him, but generally he is well focused and strangely sane_**

**__****_"I want to find out what True Heroism is, I'm willing to sacrifice my life to save others, even if I have to fight!"_**

**_Sven Reilly_**

**_Armour mode/Codename: Fusion/Aeon_**

**_Powers: create an energy fist in left hand, optic energy blasts, highly skilled fighter and gun slinger, can fuse with other people, link with a dead spirit, Weakness/Flaws: Fusing with someone can leave the person he fused with fatigued, has little control of optic blasts, unwilling to use guns despite skill, release of full powers could lead to insanity, fusing with some women sparks illogical attraction_**


End file.
